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fault

   Also found in: Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.09 sec.
fault  (fôlt)
n.
1.
a. A character weakness, especially a minor one.
b. Something that impairs or detracts from physical perfection; a defect. See Synonyms at blemish.
c. A mistake; an error.
d. A minor offense or misdeed.
2. Responsibility for a mistake or an offense; culpability. See Synonyms at blame.
3. Geology A fracture in the continuity of a rock formation caused by a shifting or dislodging of the earth's crust, in which adjacent surfaces are displaced relative to one another and parallel to the plane of fracture. Also called shift.
4. Electronics A defect in a circuit or wiring caused by imperfect connections, poor insulation, grounding, or shorting.
5. Sports A bad service, as in tennis.
6. Obsolete A lack or deficiency.
v. fault·ed, fault·ing, faults
v.tr.
1. To find error or defect in; criticize or blame.
2. Geology To produce a fault in; fracture.
v.intr.
1. To commit a mistake or an error.
2. Geology To shift so as to produce a fault.
Idioms:
at fault
1. Deserving of blame; guilty: admitted to being at fault.
2. Confused and puzzled.
find fault
To seek, find, and complain about faults; criticize: found fault with his speech.
to a fault
To an excessive degree: generous to a fault.

[Middle English faulte, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *fallita, from variant of Latin falsa, feminine past participle of fallere, to deceive, fail.]
click for a larger image
fault
top: normal fault
center: reverse fault
bottom: strike-slip fault

fault
Noun
1. responsibility for something wrong
2. a defect or failing: they shut the production line to remedy a fault
3. a weakness in a person's character
4. Geol a fracture in the earth's crust with displacement of the rocks on either side
5. Tennis, squash, etc. a serve that bounces outside the proper service court or fails to get over the net
6. (in showjumping) a penalty mark for failing to clear, or refusing, a fence
7. at fault to be to blame for something wrong
8. find fault with to seek out minor imperfections in
9. to a fault more than is usual or necessary: generous to a fault
Verb
1. to criticize or blame
2. Geol to undergo or cause to undergo a fault [Latin fallere to fail]
faultless adj
faultlessly adv

fault  (fôlt)
A fracture in a rock formation along which there has been movement of the blocks of rock on either side of the plane of fracture. Faults are caused by plate-tectonic forces. See more at normal faultreverse faultstrike-slip faultthrust faulttransform fault See Note at earthquake.
A Closer Look Bedrock, the solid rock just below the soil, is often cracked along surfaces known as planes. Cracks can extend up to hundreds of kilometers in length. When tensional and compressional stresses cause rocks separated by a crack to move past each other, the crack is known as a fault. Faults can be horizontal, vertical, or oblique. The movement can occur in the sudden jerks known as earthquakes. Normal faults, or tensional faults, occur when the rocks above the fault plane move down relative to the rocks below it, pulling the rocks apart. Where there is compression and folding, such as in mountainous regions, the rocks above the plane move upward relative to the rocks below the plane; these are called reverse faults. Strike-slip faults occur when shearing stress causes rocks on either side of the crack to slide parallel to the fault plane between them. Transform faults are strike-slip faults in which the crack is part of a boundary between two tectonic plates. A well-known example is the San Andreas Fault in California. Geologists use sightings of displaced outcroppings to infer the presence of faults, and they study faults to learn the history of the forces that have acted on rocks.
click for a larger image
fault
left to right: normal, reverse, and strike-slip faults
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.faultfault - a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention; "he made a bad mistake"; "she was quick to point out my errors"; "I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults"
nonaccomplishment, nonachievement - an act that does not achieve its intended goal
blot, smirch, smear, stain, spot - an act that brings discredit to the person who does it; "he made a huge blot on his copybook"
mix-up, confusion - a mistake that results from taking one thing to be another; "he changed his name in order to avoid confusion with the notorious outlaw"
incursion - the mistake of incurring liability or blame
miscalculation, misestimation, misreckoning - a mistake in calculating
distortion - the mistake of misrepresenting the facts
parapraxis, slip-up, miscue, slip - a minor inadvertent mistake usually observed in speech or writing or in small accidents or memory lapses etc.
offside - (sport) the mistake of occupying an illegal position on the playing field (in football, soccer, ice hockey, field hockey, etc.)
lapse, oversight - a mistake resulting from inattention
omission, skip - a mistake resulting from neglect
blooper, blunder, boner, boo-boo, botch, bungle, flub, foul-up, fuckup, pratfall, bloomer - an embarrassing mistake
balls-up, ballup, cockup, mess-up - something badly botched or muddled
renege, revoke - the mistake of not following suit when able to do so
2.faultfault - an imperfection in an object or machine; "a flaw caused the crystal to shatter"; "if there are any defects you should send it back to the manufacturer"
imperfection, imperfectness - the state or an instance of being imperfect
blister - a flaw on a surface resulting when an applied substance does not adhere (as an air bubble in a coat of paint)
glitch, bug - a fault or defect in a computer program, system, or machine
hole - a fault; "he shot holes in my argument"
3.fault - the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection; "they discussed the merits and demerits of her novel"; "he knew his own faults much better than she did"
worth - the quality that renders something desirable or valuable or useful
4.faultfault - (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"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust"
geology - a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks
fault line - (geology) line determined by the intersection of a geological fault and the earth's surface
crack, scissure, cleft, crevice, fissure - a long narrow opening
inclined fault - a geological fault in which one side is above the other
strike-slip fault - a geological fault in which one of the adjacent surfaces appears to have moved horizontally
5.fault - (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"
electronics - the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices
equipment failure, breakdown - a cessation of normal operation; "there was a power breakdown"
6.faultfault - responsibility for a bad situation or event; "it was John's fault"
responsibleness, responsibility - a form of trustworthiness; the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one's conduct; "he holds a position of great responsibility"
7.faultfault - (sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area); "he served too many double faults"
double fault - (tennis) two successive faults in serving resulting in the loss of the point
footfault - a fault that occurs when the server in tennis fails to keep both feet behind the baseline
squash rackets, squash racquets, squash - a game played in an enclosed court by two or four players who strike the ball with long-handled rackets
badminton - a game played on a court with light long-handled rackets used to volley a shuttlecock over a net
lawn tennis, tennis - a game played with rackets by two or four players who hit a ball back and forth over a net that divides the court
serve, service - (sports) a stroke that puts the ball in play; "his powerful serves won the game"
Verb1.faultfault - put or pin the blame on              
accuse, charge - blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against; "he charged the director with indifference"

fault
noun 2. mistake, slip, error, offence, blunder, lapse, negligence, omission, boob Brit. (slang) oversight, slip-up, indiscretion, inaccuracy, howler (informal) glitch (informal) error of judgment, boo-boo (informal) barry or Barry Crocker Austral. (slang)
noun 3. failing, lack, weakness, defect, deficiency, flaw, drawback, shortcoming, snag, blemish, imperfection, Achilles heel, weak point, infirmity, demerit << OPPOSITE strength
verb 4. criticize, blame, complain, condemn, moan about, censure, hold (someone) responsible, hold (someone) accountable, find fault with, call to account, impugn, find lacking, hold (someone) to blame >> at fault guilty, responsible, to blame, accountable, in the wrong, culpable, answerable, blamable find fault with something or someone criticize, complain about, whinge about (informal) whine about (informal) quibble, diss (slang), chiefly U.S. carp at, take to task, pick holes in, grouse about (informal) haul over the coals (informal) pull to pieces to a fault excessively, overly U.S. unduly, ridiculously, in the extreme, needlessly, out of all proportion, preposterously, overmuch, immoderately
Translations
fault [fɔːlt] n (= blame) → culpa (= defect) (in character) → defecto;
(in manufacture) → desperfecto;
(GEO) → falla
vtcriticar;
it's my fault → es culpa mía;
to find fault with → criticar, poner peros a;
at fault → culpable

fault [fɔːlt] nfaute f (= defect); défaut m;
(Geo) → faille f
vttrouver des défauts à, prendre en défaut;
it's my fault → c'est de ma faute;
to find fault with → trouver à redire or à critiquer à;
at fault → fautif/ive, coupable;
to a fault → à l'excès

fault [fɔːlt] nFehler m;
(blame) → Schuld f;
(in machine) → Defekt m;
(Geog) → Verwerfung f
vt (also: find fault with) → etwas auszusetzen haben an +dat;
it's my fault → es ist meine Schuld;
at fault → im Unrecht;
generous to a fault → übermäßig großzügig

fault [fɔːlt] ncolpa;
(TENNIS) → fallo (= defect); difetto;
(GEO) → faglia
vtcriticare;
it's my fault → è colpa mia;
to find fault with → trovare da ridire su;
at fault → in fallo;
generous to a fault → eccessivamente generoso

fault
n fault [foːlt]
1 a mistake; something for which one is to blame The accident was your fault. fout, skuld خَطَأ грешка chyba skyld; fejl die Schuld σφάλμα, φταίξιμο culpa viga, süü تقصیر syy, vika faute אַשמָה भूल pogreška hiba kesalahan mistök colpa 過失 잘못 kaltė, klaida kļūda; vaina kesalahan schuld feil, skyld błąd, wina culpa greşeală вина chyba napaka krivica fel, skuld ข้อผิดพลาด kabahat, hata 過錯 помилка; провина غلطی khuyết điểm
2 an imperfection; something wrong There is a fault in this machine; a fault in his character. defek, fout عَيْب، نَقيصَه недостатък porucha, vada fejl; brist der Fehler ελάττωμα defecto, tara viga, puudus نقص vika défaut פְּגָם अपूर्ण nedostatak, mana hiányosság cacat galli difetto 欠点 흠, 결점 trūkumas, defektas trūkums; defekts; bojājums rosak gebrek feil, lyte, mangel defekt, skaza defeito defect дефект; недостаток chyba; nedostatok hiba mana fel, skavank รอยตำหนิ arıza, bozukluk 毛病 вада, дефект خلل، نا مناسب tội; lỗi
3 a crack in the rock surface of the earth faults in the earth's crust. verskuiwing, breuk تَصَدُّع ، إنكِسار في الأرْض разлом rozsedlina, zlom forkastning die Verwerfung ρήγμα στο φλοιό της γης falla murrang, lõhe گسل siirros faille שֶבֶר फाल्ट rasjed (geológiai) vetődés sesar, retakan jarðsprunga; misgengi faglia, frattura 断層 단층 sprūdis plaisa retakan breuk forkastning, sprekk uskok falha fisură разлом zlom prelomnica pukotina förkastning รอยเลื่อนของเปลือกโลก çatlak 斷層 розлом چٹانوں کی درار (địa chất) phay; sự đứt đoạn
v
to find fault with I couldn't fault him / his piano-playing. kritiseer, afkeur, op ʼn fout betrap يُخَطِّئ، يُعيب، يَنْتَقِد критикувам nalézt/vytknout chybu rakke ned på; kritisere etwas auszusetzen haben an ψέγω, βρίσκω ελάττωμα criticar, encontrar defectos a süüdistama مقصر دانستن moittia reprocher לִמצוֹא פְּגָם दोष निकालना naći zamjerku hibáztat menemukan kesalahan finna að, gagnrÿna criticare あら探しをする ...의 흠을 찾다, 비난하다 prikibti prie atrast kļūdu mencari kesalahan aanmerkingen hebben op kritisere, bebreide krytykować culpar/criticar a reproşa придираться nájsť chybu očitati naći manu anmärka på, kritisera จับผิด hata bulmak 找...的缺點 присікуватися, прискіпуватися غلطی ڈھونڈنا phát hiện khuyết điểm ...
adj faultless
without fault; perfect a faultless performance. foutloos, volmaak, onberispelik لا عَيْبَ فيه безупречен bezvadný fejlfri fehlerfrei άψογος perfecto, intachable, impecable veatu بی عیب و نقص virheetön irréprochable מוּשלָם दोष रहित besprijekoran hibátlan sempurna gallalaus impeccabile 欠点のない 흠잡을 데 없는, 완벽한 tobulas nevainojams sempurna feilloos feilfri, ulastelig, uklanderlig bezbłędny impecável ireproşabil безупречный bezchybný brezhiben besprekoran felfri, oklanderlig สมบูรณ์แบบ kusursuz 完美無缺的 безпомилковий; бездоганний بے عیب hoàn hảo; không sai lầm
adv faultlessly
foutloos, volmaak, onberispelik بِدون عَيب، بِدون خَطَأ безгрешно bezvadně fejlfrit fehlerfrei άψογα impecablemente laitmatult بطور کامل virheettömästi irréprochablement לְלְא פְּגָם दोष रहित रूप से besprijekorno hibátlanul secara sempurna gallalaust in maniera impeccabile 申し分なく 완벽하게 tobulai nevainojami dengan sempurna feilloos feilfritt, ulastelig, uklanderlig bezbłędnie impecavelmente ireproşabil безупречно bezchybne brezhibno besprekorno felfritt อย่างไม่ผิดพลาด kusursuz bir şekilde 完美無缺地 безпомилково, бездоганно بے عیبی سے hoàn hảo; tốt đẹp
adj faulty
(usually of something mechanical) not made or working correctly. defek, onklaar, foutief خاطِئ، ناقِص، مَعيب، لا يَعْمل كما يَجِب неизправен vadný defekt; fejlbehæftet fehlerhaft ελαττωματικός defectuoso praak-, defektne ناقص؛ اشتباه viallinen défectueux פָּגוּם अशुद्ध neispravan, manjkav hibás punya cacat gallaður difettoso 欠陥のある 결함이 있는 netikęs, sugedęs nepilnīgs; kļūdains rosak gebrekkig defekt, mangelfull wadliwy defeituoso defect повреждённый chybný z napako kvaran felaktig, bristfällig ซึ่งมีข้อผิดพลาด bozuk, arızalı 有缺陷的 пошкоджений; зіпсований خراب hỏng
at fault
wrong or to blame She was at fault. verkeerd wees مُذِنِب، على خَطَأ، مَلوم виновен na omylu skyldig; ansvarlig schuldig άδικα tener la culpa eksinud, süüdi مقصر väärässä fautif אָשֵם गलत kriv, odgovoran hibás bersalah sekur in fallo, colpevole 間違って kaltas, neteisus vainīgs; vainojams bersalah schuldig (ta) feil, (ha) skylden; klanderverdig w błędzie errado/culpável de vină виноватый mýliť sa motiti se kriv ta fel, vara skyldig ต้องถูกตำหนิ hatalı, kabahatli 有過錯 винний غلط یا نا مناسب chịu trách nhiệm về một sai lầm
find fault with
to criticize or complain of She is always finding fault with the way he eats. afkeur, fout vind met يَنْتَقِد، يُخَطِّئ، يُعيب упреквам kritizovat, vytýkat kritisere etwas auszusetzen finden an επικρίνω criticar a alguien (millegi üle) nurisema ایراد گرفتن moittia reprocher לְהִתלוֹנֵן על- गलती निकालना prigovarati, kritizirati kifogásol mencela finna að, gagnrÿna brontolare あら探しをする 비난하다, 흠잡다 priekabiauti, kabinėtis prie kritizēt; pelt mencari salah vitten op finne feil ved, kritisere krytykować criticar a reproşa придираться к kritizovať grajati kritikovati leta fel, försöka hitta fel จ้องจับผิด kusur bulmak 挑剔 присікуватися, прискіпуватися تنقید یا شکایت کرنا phê phán ai một cách gay gắt
to a fault
to too great an extent She was generous to a fault. uiters/ uitermate wees, oordrewe wees إلى حَدٍ أكبر مِن اللازِم прекалено nadmíru, až příliš ud over alle grænser allzu sehr σε βαθμό υπερβολικό en exceso üleliia بیش از حد liian à l'excès לַלֶכֶת רָחוֹק מִדַי गलत होने की हद तक ज्यादा vrlo jako, pretjerano túlságosan is sangat um of eccessivamente 極端に 지나치게 per daug pārlieku sangat overdreven til overmål, i urimelig grad do przesady em demasia (greu) din cale-afară чрезмерно prehnane pretirano izuzetno överdrivet, alldeles för เกินดีไป aşırı derecede 過分 надмірно, занадто کافی بڑی حد تک hết sức;vô cùng


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I am a wanderer and an exile, entirely through the fault of others.
A sensibility too tremblingly alive to every affliction of my Freinds, my Acquaintance and particularly to every affliction of my own, was my only fault, if a fault it could be called.
You see the fault becomes a virtue when it is hers, the treason prospers; wherefore, no doubt, the impossibility of imagining it.
 
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