fault
pronunciation
How to pronounce fault in British English:
UK [fɔːlt]
How to pronounce fault in American English:
US [fɔːlt]
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- Noun:
- responsibility for a bad situation or event
- (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
- the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection
- a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
- an imperfection in a device or machine
- (sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area)
- (electronics) equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit (loose connection or insulation failure or short circuit etc.)
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- Verb:
- put or pin the blame on
Word Origin
- fault
- fault: [13] Like fail, fallacy, fallible, and false, fault comes ultimately from Latin fallere ‘deceive, fail’. Its past participle formed the basis of a Vulgar Latin noun *fallita ‘failing, falling short’, which passed into English via Old French faute in the sense ‘lack, deficiency’. The notion of ‘moral culpability’ does not seem to have become incorporated into the word until the late 14th century.=> fail, fallacy, fallible, false
- fault (n.)
- late 13c., faute, "deficiency," from Old French faute, earlier falte, "opening, gap; failure, flaw, blemish; lack, deficiency" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *fallita "a shortcoming, falling," from Latin falsus "deceptive, feigned, spurious," past participle of fallere "deceive, disappoint" (see fail (v.)). The -l- was restored 16c., probably in imitation of Latin, but the letter was silent until 18c. Sense of "physical defect" is from early 14c.; that of "moral culpability" (milder than sin or vice, but more serious than an error) is first recorded late 14c. Geological sense is from 1796. The use in tennis (c. 1600) is closer to the etymological sense.
- fault (v.)
- "find fault with," mid-15c. from fault (n.). Earlier it was used in an intransitive sense of "be deficient" (late 14c., Scottish). Related: Faulted; faulter; faulting.
Synonym
Example
- 1. Men never think anything is their fault .
- 2. This is not entirely mr juholt 's fault .
- 3. This vegetation lineament is along the banning fault .
- 4. It 's a long story and at least partly my fault .
- 5. Advanced software will help you predict the fault coverage for the test at hand .