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fault
(redirected from finding fault)

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 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, skuldخَطَأгрешкаchybaskyld; fejldie Schuldσφάλμα, φταίξιμοculpaviga, süüتقصیرsyy, vikafauteאַשמָהभूलpogreškahibakesalahanmistökcolpa過失잘못kaltė, klaidakļūda; vainakesalahanschuldfeil, skyldbłąd, winaculpagreşealăвинаchybanapakakrivicafel, skuldข้อผิดพลาดkabahat, hata過錯помилка; провинаغلطیkhuyết điểm
2 an imperfection; something wrong There is a fault in this machine; a fault in his character.defek, foutعَيْب، نَقيصَهнедостатъкporucha, vadafejl; bristder Fehlerελάττωμαdefecto, taraviga, puudusنقصvikadéfautפְּגָםअपूर्णnedostatak, manahiányosságcacatgallidifetto欠点흠, 결점trūkumas, defektastrūkums; defekts; bojājumsrosakgebrekfeil, lyte, mangeldefekt, skazadefeitodefectдефект; недостатокchyba; nedostatokhibamanafel, skavankรอยตำหนิarıza, bozukluk毛病вада, дефектخلل، نا مناسبtội; lỗi
3 a crack in the rock surface of the earth faults in the earth's crust.verskuiwing, breukتَصَدُّع ، إنكِسار في الأرْضразломrozsedlina, zlomforkastningdie Verwerfungρήγμα στο φλοιό της γηςfallamurrang, lõheگسلsiirrosfailleשֶבֶרफाल्टrasjed(geológiai) vetődéssesar, retakanjarðsprunga; misgengifaglia, frattura断層단층sprūdisplaisaretakanbreukforkastning, sprekkuskokfalhafisurăразломzlomprelomnicapukotinaförkastningรอยเลื่อนของเปลือกโลกçatlak斷層розломچٹانوں 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 betrapيُخَطِّئ، يُعيب، يَنْتَقِدкритикувамnalézt/vytknout chyburakke ned på; kritisereetwas auszusetzen haben anψέγω, βρίσκω ελάττωμαcriticar, encontrar defectos asüüdistamaمقصر دانستنmoittiareprocherלִמצוֹא פְּגָםदोष निकालनाnaći zamjerkuhibáztatmenemukan kesalahanfinna að, gagnrÿnacriticareあら探しをする...의 흠을 찾다, 비난하다prikibti prieatrast kļūdumencari kesalahanaanmerkingen hebben opkritisere, bebreidekrytykowaćculpar/criticara reproşaпридиратьсяnájsť chybuočitatinaći manuanmärka på, kritiseraจับผิดhata bulmak找...的缺點присікуватися, прискіпуватисяغلطی ڈھونڈناphát hiện khuyết điểm...
adj ˈfaultless
without fault; perfect a faultless performance.foutloos, volmaak, onberispelikلا عَيْبَ فيهбезупреченbezvadnýfejlfrifehlerfreiάψογοςperfecto, intachable, impecableveatuبی عیب و نقصvirheetönirréprochableמוּשלָםदोष रहितbesprijekoranhibátlansempurnagallalausimpeccabile欠点のない흠잡을 데 없는, 완벽한tobulasnevainojamssempurnafeilloosfeilfri, ulastelig, uklanderligbezbłędnyimpecávelireproşabilбезупречныйbezchybnýbrezhibenbesprekoranfelfri, oklanderligสมบูรณ์แบบkusursuz完美無缺的безпомилковий; бездоганнийبے عیبhoàn hảo; không sai lầm
adv ˈfaultlessly
foutloos, volmaak, onberispelikبِدون عَيب، بِدون خَطَأбезгрешноbezvadněfejlfritfehlerfreiάψογαimpecablementelaitmatultبطور کاملvirheettömästiirréprochablementלְלְא פְּגָםदोष रहित रूप सेbesprijekornohibátlanulsecara sempurnagallalaustin maniera impeccabile申し分なく완벽하게tobulainevainojamidengan sempurnafeilloosfeilfritt, ulastelig, uklanderligbezbłędnieimpecavelmenteireproşabilбезупречноbezchybnebrezhibnobesprekornofelfrittอย่างไม่ผิดพลาดkusursuz bir şekilde完美無缺地безпомилково, бездоганноبے عیبی سےhoàn hảo; tốt đẹp
adj ˈfaulty
(usually of something mechanical) not made or working correctly. defek, onklaar, foutiefخاطِئ، ناقِص، مَعيب، لا يَعْمل كما يَجِبнеизправенvadnýdefekt; fejlbehæftetfehlerhaftελαττωματικόςdefectuosopraak-, defektneناقص؛ اشتباهviallinendéfectueuxפָּגוּםअशुद्धneispravan, manjkavhibáspunya cacatgallaðurdifettoso欠陥のある결함이 있는netikęs, sugedęsnepilnīgs; kļūdainsrosakgebrekkigdefekt, mangelfullwadliwydefeituosodefectповреждённыйchybnýz napakokvaranfelaktig, bristfälligซึ่งมีข้อผิดพลาดbozuk, arızalı有缺陷的пошкоджений; зіпсованийخرابhỏng
at fault
wrong or to blame She was at fault.verkeerd weesمُذِنِب، على خَطَأ، مَلومвиновенna omyluskyldig; ansvarligschuldigάδικαtener la culpaeksinud, süüdiمقصرväärässäfautifאָשֵםगलतkriv, odgovoranhibásbersalahsekurin fallo, colpevole間違ってkaltas, neteisusvainīgs; vainojamsbersalahschuldig(ta) feil, (ha) skylden; klanderverdigw błędzieerrado/culpávelde vinăвиноватыйmýliť samotiti sekrivta fel, vara skyldigต้องถูกตำหนิhatalı, kabahatli有過錯виннийغلط یا نا مناسبchịu 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 metيَنْتَقِد، يُخَطِّئ، يُعيبупреквамkritizovat, vytýkatkritisereetwas auszusetzen finden anεπικρίνωcriticar a alguien(millegi üle) nurisemaایراد گرفتنmoittiareprocherלְהִתלוֹנֵן על-गलती निकालनाprigovarati, kritiziratikifogásolmencelafinna að, gagnrÿnabrontolareあら探しをする비난하다, 흠잡다priekabiauti, kabinėtis priekritizēt; peltmencari salahvitten opfinne feil ved, kritiserekrytykowaćcriticara reproşaпридираться кkritizovaťgrajatikritikovatileta fel, försöka hitta felจ้องจับผิดkusur bulmak挑剔присікуватися, прискіпуватисяتنقید یا شکایت کرناphê phán ai một cách gay gắt
to a fault
to too great an extent She was generous to a fault.uiters/ uitermate wees, oordrewe weesإلى حَدٍ أكبر مِن اللازِمпрекаленоnadmíru, až přílišud over alle grænserallzu sehrσε βαθμό υπερβολικόen excesoüleliiaبیش از حدliianà l'excèsלַלֶכֶת רָחוֹק מִדַיगलत होने की हद तक ज्यादाvrlo jako, pretjeranotúlságosan issangatum ofeccessivamente極端に지나치게per daugpārliekusangatoverdreventil overmål, i urimelig graddo przesadyem demasia(greu) din cale-afarăчрезмерноprehnanepretiranoizuzetnoöverdrivet, alldeles förเกินดีไปaşırı derecede過分надмірно, занадтоکافی بڑی حد تکhết sức;vô cùng

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