What does "fault" mean?
Culpability; the responsibility for a blameworthy event.
Fault
/fɔːlt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Culpability; the responsibility for a blameworthy event.
- Grammar: fault is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: break, defect, flaw, fracture.
- Useful contrasts: positive attribute, acing, applaud.
- Usage evidence: You're always finding fault with me.
How to use "fault"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fault" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "fault" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "fault" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fault" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "fault" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "break" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "fault", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Culpability; the responsibility for a blameworthy event.
"No, don't blame yourself. It's my fault that we lost the game."
- 2 a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention wordnet
- 3 A defect, imperfection, or weakness; more severe than a flaw.; A failing of character; less severe than a vice.
"Despite all her faults, she’s a good person at heart."
- 4 (sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area) wordnet
- 5 A defect, imperfection, or weakness; more severe than a flaw.; A characteristic, positive or negative or both, which increases one's risk of danger or difficulty.
"You're still young, that's your fault."
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 responsibility for a bad situation or event wordnet
- 7 A defect, imperfection, or weakness; more severe than a flaw.; A strongly undesirable variation of food or drink caused by impurity or contamination.
"Cork taint is one of the most recognizable wine faults."
- 8 the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection wordnet
- 9 A defect, imperfection, or weakness; more severe than a flaw.; A point of weakness in something's physical structure. obsolete
"As patches set upon a little breach / Discredit more in hiding of the fault."
- 10 (electronics) equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit (loose connection or insulation failure or short circuit etc.) wordnet
- 11 A mistake or error.; A minor offense.
- 12 (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other wordnet
- 13 A mistake or error.; An illegal serve.
"It is a fault if the ball served drop in the net, or beyond the Service-Line, or if it drop out of Court, or in the wrong Court. A fault may not be taken. After a fault, the Server shall serve again from the same Court from which he served that fault."
- 14 an imperfection in an object or machine wordnet
- 15 A mistake or error.; A penalty point assessed in horseback events such as show jumping.
"If the horse refuses an obstacle, the rider will receive four faults."
- 16 A mistake or error.; An exception within a software program or process.
- 17 A point at which something is divided, interrupted, or disconnected.; A fracture in a rock formation causing a discontinuity.
"That might explain why the last three major earthquakes occurred not at San Andreas faults, where it would seem natural to expect them, but in both adjacent fault groups."
- 18 A point at which something is divided, interrupted, or disconnected.; An abnormal connection within an electric circuit.
- 19 A point at which something is divided, interrupted, or disconnected.; A loss of the scent being tracked by a hound.
"Ceasing their clamorous cry till they have singled, / With much ado, the cold fault clearly out."
- 20 A point at which something is divided, interrupted, or disconnected.; An intrusion of another material, such as dirt or slate, within a coal seam.
- 21 want; lack; absence obsolete
"one, it pleases me, for fault of a better, to call my friend"
Verb
- 1 To criticize, blame or find fault with something or someone. transitive
"For that, says he, I ne'er will fault thee / But for humbleness exalt thee."
- 2 put or pin the blame on wordnet
- 3 To fracture. intransitive
- 4 To commit a mistake or error. intransitive
- 5 To undergo a page fault. intransitive
Example
"You're always finding fault with me."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "fault"?
Common synonyms include: break, defect, flaw, fracture, aberrancy, aberration.
How do you use "fault" in a sentence?
You're always finding fault with me.
How do you pronounce "fault"?
Pronounced /fɔːlt/.
Etymology
From Middle English faute, faulte, from Anglo-Norman faute, Old French faute, from Vulgar Latin *fallita (“shortcoming”), feminine of *fallitus, in place of Latin falsus, perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Displaced native Middle English schuld, schuild (“fault”) (from Old English scyld (“fault”)), Middle English lac (“fault, lack”) (from Middle Dutch lak (“lack, fault”)), Middle English last (“fault, vice”) (from Old Norse lǫstr (“fault, vice, crime”)). Compare French faute (“fault, foul”), Portuguese falta (“lack, shortage”) and Spanish falta (“lack, absence”). More at fail, false.