fault

I UK [fɔːlt] / US [fɔlt] noun
Word forms "fault":
singular fault plural faults
***

1) [countable/uncountable] the fact of being responsible for a bad or unpleasant situation

be someone's fault:

It's my fault – I forgot to give him the message.

be someone's fault (that):

It's not my fault that we're late.

be someone's own fault:

If you didn't get enough sleep, it's your own fault.

be all someone's fault:

We've missed the plane and it's all your fault!

be someone's fault for doing something:

It was partly the teacher's fault for not explaining things clearly enough.

through no fault of your own:

He seems to have lost the job through no fault of his own.

the fault lies with:

If a child does not attend school, the fault lies with the parent.

2) [countable] a feature of something that makes it less good

The book's main fault is that it is too long.

for all something's faults (= despite them):

For all its faults, it is still the best small car on the market.

a) a problem with a machine or piece of equipment that stops it from working correctly

fault in:

An engineer was called out to repair a fault in the alarm system.

an electrical/mechanical/technical fault:

The fire was caused by an electrical fault.

b) a bad part of someone's character

She has her faults, but on the whole she's very nice.

for all someone's faults (= despite them):

For all his faults, he's been a very good friend to me.

c) a small mistake in a product that spoils its appearance slightly and makes it less than perfect

Clothes with faults are sold off cheaply through market stalls.

3) [countable] a service in tennis in which the ball does not land inside the correct area

4) [countable] science a crack on or below the Earth's surface

a geological fault

the San Andreas Fault

•

- at fault

- find fault with

- to a fault

II UK [fɔːlt] / US [fɔlt] verb [transitive]
Word forms "fault":
present tense I/you/we/they fault he/she/it faults present participle faulting past tense faulted past participle faulted

to find something bad or wrong in a person or thing

I can't fault the players for effort and commitment.

be hard/difficult to fault:

Sophie's performance was difficult to fault.