Illustration of fault
- 1 fault with displaced strata a b c d e
- 2 scarp
1
b
: a physical or intellectual imperfection or impairment : defect
a theory with some serious faults
c
: an error especially in service in a net or racket game
She committed too many faults to win the match.
2
: responsibility for wrongdoing or failure
the accident was the driver's fault
3
a
: mistake
The misplacement of "only" is one of the most common writing faults.
b
: misdemeanor
a small boy's faults
4
: a fracture in the crust of a planet (such as the earth) or moon accompanied by a displacement of one side of the fracture with respect to the other usually in a direction parallel to the fracture
Frequent earthquakes have occurred along the San Andreas Fault.
5
obsolete
: lack
faulted; faulting; faults
1
: to find a fault in
easy to praise this book and to fault it—
H. G. Roepke
H. G. Roepke3
: to produce a geologic fault in
Examples of fault in a Sentence
Noun
Lack of courage is his worst fault.
If the book has a fault, it's that it's too long.
It's your own fault you missed that bus.
Through no fault of his own, he won't be able to attend the meeting.
She committed too many faults to win the match.
Verb
The truck driver was faulted for the accident.
Many have faulted her for not acting sooner.
I can't fault him for trying to protect his family.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brad Templeton, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Whatever motivates these acts, the fault and the responsibility lie with the perpetrator.
—ABC News, 14 Sep. 2025
Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Adapting this chaos‑engineering philosophy through recovery drills, fault injection and regular testing exposes hidden dependencies and builds confidence.
—Mukul Garg, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fault
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Even so, as the volume of travel increases--Waymo is over 250,000 rides/week--some day there will be a fatality with fault attributable to a robocar.
—Brad Templeton, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Whatever motivates these acts, the fault and the responsibility lie with the perpetrator.
—ABC News, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
Many members of the Venezuelan opposition, Straka said, have long relished calling out government supporters for treating Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s predecessor, as a messiah, but they can be faulted for believing, with similar fervor, that American salvation is coming.
—Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Adapting this chaos‑engineering philosophy through recovery drills, fault injection and regular testing exposes hidden dependencies and builds confidence.
—Mukul Garg, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fault
Cite this Entry
“Fault.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fault. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fault
1 of 2 noun1
a
: a weakness in character : failing
b
: a physical or mental flaw
2
a
: a wrongful act
3
: responsibility for wrongdoing or failure
it's all my fault
4
: a break in the earth's crust accompanied by a displacement of rock masses parallel to the break
faultless
adjective
-ləs
faultlessly
adverb
faultlessness
noun
fault
2 of 2 verb1
: to fracture so as to produce a geologic fault
2
: to find a fault in
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