fault

Meaning

Noun

1. A defect; something that detracts from perfection.
2. A mistake or error.
3. A weakness of character; a failing.
4. A characteristic, positive or negative or both, which subjects a person or thing to increased risk of danger.
5. A minor offense.
6. Blame; the responsibility for a mistake.
7. A fracture in a rock formation causing a discontinuity.
8. In coal seams, coal rendered worthless by impurities in the seam.
9. An illegal serve.
10. An abnormal connection in a circuit.
11. (obsolete) want; lack
12. A lost scent; act of losing the scent.

Verb

1. To criticize, blame or find fault with something or someone.
2. To fracture.
3. To commit a mistake or error.
4. To undergo a page fault.

Concepts

fault

defect

error

mistake

blemish

flaw

sin

blame

guilt

offence

crime

failure

blunder

shortcoming

wrong

imperfection

deficiency

transgression

failing

offense

weakness

slip

malfunction

lapse

weak point

vice

demerit

misdeed

drawback

breakdown

criticize

censure

damage

discredit

disgrace

mismanagement

oversight

stumble

break

fracture

frailty

spot

misdemeanour

responsibility

bug

misdemeanor

criticise

find fault with

charge

indiscretion

cause

reason

stain

foible

faulting

geological fault

shift

dislocation

hole

lack

delinquency

misconduct

wrong-doing

shortcomings

erroneous

be at fault

bad

find fault

judge

rap

accuse

reprove

impairment

wrinkle

aberration

blooper

feebleness

weak spot

omission

bad point

badness

claim

due

case

matter of concern

faux pas

out of order

accident

break-down

rag

scrap

tattered clothes

disadvantage

impurity

smudge

hitch

hindrance

malefaction

misbehaviour

misprint

typing error

misstep

trip

trouble

chop

transgressing

blot

bungle

culpability

dislocate

inaccuracy

inculpation

muff

obliquity

slide

stigma

taint

imputation

negligence

remissness

irregularity

evil

objection

management fault

bloomer

below grade

below proof

branching fault

distributive fault

spray

stacking fault

degrade

discrepancy

speck

incorrect

miscarriage

injustice

rift

snag

attack

animadvert

assess

castigate

criminate

denounce

evaluate

grade

mark

peer review

review

score

aperture

breach

clear

fenestra

foramen

gap

lacuna

mouth

opening

outlet

rima

slot

split

vent

way out

carp

challenge

objurgate

rebuke

reject

reprehend

reprimand

scald

take exception

grain

occasion

wherefore

why

adjudicate

arraign

incriminate

indict

prosecute

recriminate

reproach

try

glitch

kink

mar

fluff

foul

misplay

revoke

iniquity

chasm

crack

short circuit

false

miss

faultiness

mistakes

bobble

disorder

dysfunction

reprobation

wrongdoing

boner

boo-boo

foul-up

fuckup

gaucherie

goof

howler

malpractice

mistook

mix-up

Freudian slip

clanger

gaffe

mischief

contradiction

culpable

do wrong

make mistake

exception

complaint

event

abundance

defame

be confused

Pronounced as (IPA)

/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.