1an unattractive or unsatisfactory feature, especially in a piece of work or in a person’s character:my worst fault is impatience
a break or other defect in an electric circuit or piece of machinery:a fire caused by an electrical fault
a misguided action or habit:the fault of the keen therapist is to start to intervene during the assessment phase
(in tennis and similar games) a service of the ball not in accordance with the rules.
(usually faults) (in showjumping) a penalty point imposed for an error.
2 [mass noun] responsibility for an accident or misfortune:if books were not selling, it wasn’t the fault of the publishersit was his fault she had died
3 Geology an extended break in a rock formation, marked by the relative displacement and discontinuity of strata on either side of a particular plane:a landscape broken by numerous faults [as modifier]:the fault plane dips northwards
ზმნა
Universal
1 [with object, usually with negative] criticize for inadequacy or mistakes:her superiors could not fault her dedication to the jobyou cannot fault him for the professionalism of his approach
[no object] archaic do wrong:the people of Caesarea faulted greatly when they called King Herod a god
2 (be faulted) Geology (of a rock formation) be broken by a fault or faults:the continental crust has been thinned and faulted as a result of geological processes (as noun faulting)a complex pattern of faulting
at fault
1responsible for an undesirable situation; in the wrong:we recover compensation from the person at fault
2defective:he suspected that his calculator was at fault
find fault
make an adverse criticism or objection, sometimes unfairly:he finds fault with everything I do
—— to a fault
displaying the specified commendable quality to an almost excessive extent:you’re kind and generous to a fault
