Skip to content

fault

/fɔlt/noun, verb1 syllable

Fault means: (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other.

Synonyms for fault20

noun, as in (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other

faulting, geological fault, shift, fracture, break

noun, as in a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention

mistake, error

noun, as in an imperfection in an object or machine

defect, flaw

noun, as in the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection

demerit

verb, as in put or pin the blame on

blame

also used for fault

vulnerability, accuse, admonish, put the blame on, animadvert, bash, bawl out, slash, lash

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does fault mean?8

noun

1

(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other“they built it right over a geological fault”

2

a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention“he made a bad mistake”

3

an imperfection in an object or machine“a flaw caused the crystal to shatter”

4

the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection“they discussed the merits and demerits of her novel”

5

(electronics) equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit (loose connection or insulation failure or short circuit etc.)“it took much longer to find the fault than to fix it”

6

responsibility for a bad situation or event“it was John's fault”

7

(sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area)“he served too many double faults”

verb

1

put or pin the blame on

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with fault?7

one syllable

salthaltvaultmalt

two syllables

assaultdefaultbasalt
Show 40 near rhymes
fororyourallmorebecausebeforeofflongcalledthoughtfoursupportcallsmalllawwarcoursetalkcourtlostwrongalongyorknorthsawshortreportformsongacrossboardforcestrongrecordgonebroughtsourcefalldog

Fault in a sentence

  • It mightn't have been my youngest brother's fault, but it wasn't mine either.fcbond
  • Laughter is the only cure against vanity, and vanity is the only laughable fault.FeuDRenais
  • If you believe what politicians say, it's really your own fault.BraveSentry
  • I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue of it being so proper.al_ex_an_der
  • If you can't read, it's not my fault.CM
  • They got blamed, but it wasn't their fault.CK
  • Since losing the match was everyone's fault, you don't have to apologize.User19745
  • If you think it was my fault, you're barking up the wrong tree.freddy1

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of fault

as a noun

plural
faults

as a verb

past tense
faulted
present participle
faulting
third-person singular
faults
past participle
faulted