I. fault 1 S2 W3 /fɔːlt $ fɒːlt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ faultless , ↑ faulty ; verb : ↑ fault ; noun : ↑ fault ; adverb : ↑ faultlessly ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: faute , from Latin fallere ; ⇨ ↑ fail 1 ]
1 . RESPONSIBLE FOR MISTAKE if something bad that has happened is your fault, you should be blamed for it, because you made a mistake or failed to do something:
I’m really sorry – it’s all my fault.
be sb’s fault (that)
It’s your fault we’re late.
I didn’t sleep well that night, but it was my own fault.
be sb’s fault for doing something
It’s my fault for not making your new job clearer.
2 . at fault if someone is at fault, they are responsible for something bad that has happened:
The police said that the other driver was at fault.
Some people claim that it is the UN that is at fault.
3 . SOMETHING WRONG WITH SOMETHING
a) something that is wrong with a machine, system, design etc, which prevents it from working properly:
a design fault
fault in
It sounds as if there’s a fault in one of the loudspeakers.
b) something that is wrong with something, which could be improved SYN flaw :
There are two serious faults in Hobsbawm’s discussion of nationalism.
For all its faults (=in spite of its faults) we love this city.
c) a mistake in the way that something was made, which spoils its appearance
fault in
The sweater had a fault in it and I had to take it back.
4 . SB’S CHARACTER a bad or weak part of someone’s character:
His worst fault is his arrogance.
I may have my faults, but ingratitude is not one of them.
For all his faults (=in spite of his faults) he was a good father.
5 . through no fault of her/my etc own used to say that something bad that happened to someone was not caused by them:
Through no fault of our own we are currently two players short.
6 . CRACK a large crack in the rocks that form the Earth’s surface:
the San Andreas fault
7 . generous/loyal/honest etc to a fault extremely generous, kind etc:
Barry’s kind, caring and generous to a fault.
8 . TENNIS a mistake made when a player is ↑ serving the ball in tennis
⇨ ↑ double fault , ⇨ find fault with somebody/something at ↑ find 1 (14)
• • •
THESAURUS (for Meaning 3)
■ something wrong
▪ fault a problem in a machine, system, design etc that causes damage or makes it not work properly:
The fire was caused by an electrical fault.
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a fault in the engine
▪ defect a fault in something such as a product or machine, resulting from the way it was made or designed:
Cars are tested for defects before they leave the factory.
▪ weakness a part of a plan, system, or argument that is not as good as the other parts, and makes it likely to fail:
What are the strengths and weaknesses of each method?
▪ flaw a fault in a plan, system, argument etc, especially one that makes it useless or not effective:
Your argument has a fundamental flaw.
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There was one major flaw in his suggestion – we didn’t have enough money.
▪ bug a fault in a computer program:
A bug in the system was quickly fixed.
▪ glitch a small fault in the way something works, that can usually be easily corrected:
I noticed a small glitch when installing the software.
▪ mistake something that is wrong in someone’s spelling, grammar, calculations etc:
The article was full of spelling mistakes.
▪ there’s something wrong with something used when saying that there is a problem in a machine, car etc, but you do not know what it is:
There’s something wrong with the computer – it won’t close down.
II. fault 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive usually passive]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ faultless , ↑ faulty ; verb : ↑ fault ; noun : ↑ fault ; adverb : ↑ faultlessly ]
to criticize someone or something for a mistake:
The judge cannot be faulted on his decision.
it is hard/difficult to fault somebody/something
You might not like O'Donnel’s arrogance, but it’s hard to fault what he does on the field.