a defect or imperfection; flaw; failing: a fault in the brakes; a fault in one's character.
2.
responsibility for failure or a wrongful act: It is my fault that we have not finished.
3.
an error or mistake: a fault in addition.
4.
a misdeed or transgression: to confess one's faults.
5.
Sports. (in tennis, handball, etc.)
a.
a ball that when served does not land in the proper section of an opponent's court.
b.
a failure to serve the ball according to the rules, as from within a certain area.
6.
Geology,Mining. a break in the continuity of a body of rock or of a vein, with dislocation along the plane of the fracture (fault plane).
7.
Manège. (of a horse jumping in a show) any of a number of improper executions in negotiating a jump, as a tick, knockdown, refusal, or run-out.
8.
Electricity. a partial or total local failure in the insulation or continuity of a conductor or in the functioning of an electric system.
9.
Hunting. a break in the line of scent; a losing of the scent; check.
10.
Obsolete. lack; want.
–verb (used without object)
11.
to commit a fault; blunder; err.
12.
Geology. to undergo faulting.
–verb (used with object)
13.
Geology. to cause a fault in.
14.
to find fault with, blame, or censure.
—Idioms
15.
at fault,
a.
open to censure; blameworthy: to be at fault for a mistake.
b.
in a dilemma; puzzled: to be at fault as to where to go.
c.
(of hounds) unable to find the scent.
16.
find fault, to seek and make known defects or flaws; complain; criticize: He constantly found fault with my behavior.
17.
to a fault, to an extreme degree; excessively: She was generous to a fault.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME faute < AF, MF < VL *fallita, n. use of fem. of *fallitus, for L falsus, ptp. of fallere to be wrong]
—Synonyms 1. blemish; frailty, shortcoming. Fault,failing,foible,weakness,vice imply shortcomings or imperfections in a person. Fault is the common word used to refer to any of the average shortcomings of a person; when it is used, condemnation is not necessarily implied: Of his many faults the greatest is vanity. Foible,failing,weakness all tend to excuse the person referred to. Of these foible is the mildest, suggesting a weak point that is slight and often amusing, manifesting itself in eccentricity rather than in wrongdoing: the foibles of artists. Weakness suggests that the person in question is unable to control a particular impulse, and gives way to self-indulgence: a weakness for pretty women. Failing is closely akin to fault, except that it is particularly applied to humanity at large, suggesting common, often venial, shortcomings: Procrastination and making excuses are common failings. Vice (which may also apply to a sin in itself, apart from a person: the vice of gambling) is the strongest term, and designates a habit that is truly detrimental or evil.
Something that impairs or detracts from physical perfection; a defect. See Synonyms at blemish.
A mistake; an error.
A minor offense or misdeed.
Responsibility for a mistake or an offense; culpability. See Synonyms at blame.
Geology A fracture in the continuity of a rock formation caused by a shifting or dislodging of the earth's crust, in which adjacent surfaces are displaced relative to one another and parallel to the plane of fracture. Also called shift.
Electronics A defect in a circuit or wiring caused by imperfect connections, poor insulation, grounding, or shorting.
Sports A bad service, as in tennis.
Obsolete A lack or deficiency.
v.
fault·ed, fault·ing, faults
v.
tr.
To find error or defect in; criticize or blame.
Geology To produce a fault in; fracture.
v.
intr.
To commit a mistake or an error.
Geology To shift so as to produce a fault.
[Middle English faulte, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *fallita, from variant of Latin falsa, feminine past participle of fallere, to deceive, fail.]
c.1280, "deficiency," from O.Fr. faute "lack, deficiency," from V.L. *fallita "a shortcoming, falling," n. use of fem. pp., from L. falsus, pp. of fallere "deceive, disappoint" (see false). The -l- was restored 1400s, probably in imitation of L., but was not pronounced till 18c. Sense of "physical defect" is from c.1320; that of "moral culpability" is first recorded 1377. Geological sense is from 1796. The use in tennis (1599) is closer to the etymological sense. The verb is first recorded 1559 in the sense "to find fault with." Faulty is from 1380.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention; "he made a bad mistake"; "she was quick to point out my errors"; "I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults" [syn: mistake]
2.
an imperfection in an object or machine; "a flaw caused the crystal to shatter"; "if there are any defects you should send it back to the manufacturer" [syn: defect]
3.
the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection; "they discussed the merits and demerits of her novel"; "he knew his own faults much better than she did" [syn: demerit] [ant: merit]
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"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust"
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.
(sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area); "he served too many double faults"
verb
1.
put or pin the blame on [syn: blame] [ant: absolve]
Our Living Language: Bedrock, the solid rock just below the soil, is often cracked along surfaces known as planes. Cracks can extend up to hundreds of kilometers in length. When tensional and compressional stresses cause rocks separated by a crack to move past each other, the crack is known as a fault. Faults can be horizontal, vertical, or oblique. The movement can occur in the sudden jerks known as earthquakes. Normal faults, or tensional faults, occur when the rocks above the fault plane move down relative to the rocks below it, pulling the rocks apart. Where there is compression and folding, such as in mountainous regions, the rocks above the plane move upward relative to the rocks below the plane; these are called reverse faults. Strike-slip faults occur when shearing stress causes rocks on either side of the crack to slide parallel to the fault plane between them. Transform faults are strike-slip faults in which the crack is part of a boundary between two tectonic plates. A well-known example is the San Andreas Fault in California. Geologists use sightings of displaced outcroppings to infer the presence of faults, and they study faults to learn the history of the forces that have acted on rocks.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This Main Entry: fault Function: noun Etymology: Anglo-French faute lack, failing, ultimately from Latin fallere to deceive, disappoint 1: a usuallyintentional act forbidden by law; also: a usually intentional omission to do something (as to exercise due care) required by law —see also NEGLIGENCE —compare NO-FAULTstrict liabilityat LIABILITY NOTE: Sometimes when fault is used in legal contexts it includes negligence, sometimes it isconsidered synonymous with negligence, and sometimes it is distinguished from negligence. Fault and negligence are the usual bases for liability in the law of torts. 2: responsibility for an act or omission that causes damage or injury to another <relative degrees of fault> —see also COMPARATIVE FAULT—at fault: liable or responsible based on fault <was not at fault>
De*fault"\, n. [OE. defaute, OF. defaute, defalte, fem., F. d['e]faut, masc., LL. defalta, fr. a verb meaning, to be deficient, to want, fail, fr. L. de- + fallere to deceive. See Fault.]1. A failing or failure; omission of that which ought to be done; neglect to do what duty or law requires; as, this evil has happened through the governor's default. 2. Fault; offense; ill deed; wrong act; failure in virtue or wisdom. And pardon craved for his so rash default. --Spenser. Regardless of our merit or default. --Pope. 3. (Law) A neglect of, or failure to take, some step necessary to secure the benefit of law, as a failure to appear in court at a day assigned, especially of the defendant in a suit when called to make answer; also of jurors, witnesses, etc. In default of, in case of failure or lack of. Cooks could make artificial birds and fishes in default of the real ones. --Arbuthnot. To suffer a default (Law), to permit an action to be called without appearing to answer.
De*fect"\, n. [L. defectus, fr. deficere, defectum, to desert, fail, be wanting; de- + facere to make, do. See Fact, Feat, and cf. Deficit.]1. Want or absence of something necessary for completeness or perfection; deficiency; -- opposed to superfluity. Errors have been corrected, and defects supplied. --Davies. 2. Failing; fault; imperfection, whether physical or moral; blemish; as, a defect in the ear or eye; a defect in timber or iron; a defect of memory or judgment. Trust not yourself; but, your defects to know, Make use of every friend -- and every foe. --Pope. Among boys little tenderness is shown to personal defects. --Macaulay. Syn: Deficiency; imperfection; blemish. See Fault.
Fail\v. i. [imp. & p. p. Failed; p. pr. & vb. n. Failing.] [F. failir, fr. L. fallere, falsum, to deceive, akin to E. fall. See Fail, and cf. Fallacy, False, Fault.]1. To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence; to cease to be furnished in the usual or expected manner, or to be altogether cut off from supply; to be lacking; as, streams fail; crops fail. As the waters fail from the sea. --Job xiv. 11. Till Lionel's issue fails, his should not reign. --Shak. 2. To be affected with want; to come short; to lack; to be deficient or unprovided; -- used with of. If ever they fail of beauty, this failure is not be attributed to their size. --Berke. 3. To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink. When earnestly they seek Such proof, conclude they then begin to fail. --Milton. 4. To deteriorate in respect to vigor, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker; as, a sick man fails. 5. To perish; to die; -- used of a person. [Obs.] Had the king in his last sickness failed. --Shak. 6. To be found wanting with respect to an action or a duty to be performed, a result to be secured, etc.; to miss; not to fulfill expectation. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this. --Ezra iv. 22. Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale. --Shak. 7. To come short of a result or object aimed at or desired; to be baffled or frusrated. Our envious foe hath failed. --Milton. 8. To err in judgment; to be mistaken. Which ofttimes may succeed, so as perhaps Shall grieve him, if I fail not. --Milton. 9. To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent.
Fail"ing\, n. 1. A failing short; a becoming deficient; failure; deficiency; imperfection; weakness; lapse; fault; infirmity; as, a mental failing. And ever in her mind she cas about For that unnoticed failing in herself. --Tennyson. 2. The act of becoming insolvent of bankrupt. Syn: See Fault.
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