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Noun: fault  folt [N. Amer], fólt or folt [Brit]
  1. A wrong action attributable to bad judgment, ignorance or inattention
    "I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults";
    - mistake, error
     
  2. An imperfection in an object or machine
    "if there are any faults you should send it back to the manufacturer";
    - defect, flaw
     
  3. The quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection
    "he knew his own faults much better than she did";
    - demerit
     
  4. (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";
    - faulting, geological fault, shift, fracture, break
     
  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. (sport) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area)
    "he served too many double faults"
Verb: fault  folt [N. Amer], fólt or folt [Brit]
  1. Put or pin the blame on
    - blame
     
  2. Commit a mistake or make an error

Derived forms: faulting, faulted, faults

Type of: accuse, breakdown, charge, cleft, crack, crevice, equipment failure, fissure, imperfection, imperfectness, merit, nonaccomplishment, nonachievement, responsibility, responsibleness, scissure, serve, service, value, worth

Antonym: virtue

Encyclopedia: Fault