fault
[noun]
Synonyms:
- flaw, blemish, defect, deficiency, failing, imperfection, shortcoming, weakness, weak point
- mistake, blunder, error, indiscretion, lapse, oversight, slip
- responsibility, accountability, culpability, liability
- at fault: guilty, answerable, blamable, culpable, in the wrong, responsible, to blame
- find fault with: criticize, carp at, complain, pick holes in, pull to pieces, quibble, take to task
- to a fault: excessively, immoderately, in the extreme, overmuch, unduly
[verb]
Synonyms:
- criticize, blame, censure, find fault with, hold (someone) responsible, impugn

---

Antonyms: merit
Contrasted words: faultlessness, impeccability, meticulousness, preciseness, precision, excellence, perfection, virtue, desirability, goodness, rightness
Related Words: infirmity, weakness, blemish, defect, flaw, accountability, answerability, liability, responsibility, crime, error, offense, sin, transgression

---

English Thesaurus: fault, defect, weakness, flaw, bug, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. fault¹ S2 W3 /fɔːlt $ fɒːlt/ noun [countable]
[Word Family: adjective: faultless, faulty; verb: fault; noun: fault; adverb: faultlessly]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: faute, from Latin fallere; ⇒ fail¹]

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 Synonym : 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 find¹(14)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. fault² 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.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

fault
noun
I. responsibility for sth wrong
ADJ. stupid It's his own stupid fault his car was stolen?he should have kept it locked.
FAULT + VERB lie with sb The fault lay not with her but with her manager.
PREP. at ~ The party at fault in a court case usually pays the other party's legal costs.
through sb's ~ Many of the soldiers died through his fault.
without ~ Having made an error of judgement she was not without fault in the matter.
PHRASES be all/entirely your (own) fault It's all your own fault, you know.
be largely/partly your (own) fault, be hardly your (own) fault, fault on sb's part (law) the absence of fault on the part of the prosecution
through no fault of your own helping people who, through no fault of their own, have lost their homes

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fault
II. weakness in sb's character
ADJ. great Her great fault was that she thought too well of herself.
moral
VERB + FAULT have We all have our faults.
be blind to, overlook He is blind to his son's faults. She was prepared to overlook his faults.
PREP. ~ in Incorrectness in speech was considered a great fault in a gentleman.
PHRASES for all sb's faults For all her faults (= in spite of her faults) she was a great woman.
to a fault He is generous to a fault (= very generous and perhaps too generous).

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fault
III. sth wrong or not perfect with sth
ADJ. bad, major, serious | basic There is a basic fault in the design of the engine. It cannot be fixed.
dangerous | minor | common a common fault with this type of machine
real The only real fault of the book is its looseness of structure.
obvious | possible | design | technical | electrical, engine, mechanical, structural Of course, minor mechanical faults sometimes occur.
VERB + FAULT have The engine has a serious fault.
develop The car soon developed another fault.
look for | diagnose, discover, find, identify, locate They've found a major fault with the electrical system. When she tested the recorder she could find no fault with it.
find, pick My mother did nothing but find fault with my schoolboy manners. He's deliberately picking fault with the meal to get a reduction on the bill.
correct, fix, rectify, repair trying to correct the faults in the program
report You should report any fault directly to the phone company.
FAULT + VERB occur | lie in sth The fault lay in the structure of the economy.
FAULT + NOUN detection, diagnosis, finding
PREP. ~ in Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.
~ with She was always finding fault with his manners.
PHRASES for all its faults For all its faults (= in spite of the faults), we love this city.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fault
IV. in tennis
ADJ. double | foot
VERB + FAULT serve Even tennis champions sometimes serve double faults.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fault
V. geology
ADJ. geological
FAULT + NOUN line | scarp | system, zone

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fault
noun
1.
BAD: I apologize for our fault and will send you a full refund.
GOOD: I apologize for our mistake and will send you a full refund.
BAD: If you have time, could you correct the faults in this letter for me?
GOOD: If you have time, could you correct the mistakes in this letter for me?

Usage Note:
Use fault in connection with machines, electrical equipment, and someone's character: 'It sounds like there's a fault in one of the loudspeakers.' 'The secret of a successful relationship is to accept each other's faults.'
In connection with spellings, essays, calculations, decisions, etc, use mistake : 'There are always a lot of mistakes in Ivan's work.' 'We all make mistakes.'

---

2.
BAD: Since we have the fault, we will not charge you for the dress.
GOOD: Since it is our fault, we will not charge you for the dress.
GOOD: Since we are to blame, we will not charge you for the dress.

Usage Note:
If you are responsible for something bad that has happened, it is your fault or you are to blame : 'It's not my fault that the car ran out of petrol.' 'The inquiry will try to establish who is to blame for the disaster.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

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.
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.
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.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

fault
fɔ:lt
See: at fault , find fault , to a fault

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲