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fault

fault

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fault    Audio Help   (fôlt)   

n.  

    1. A character weakness, especially a minor one.

    2. Something that impairs or detracts from physical perfection; a defect. See Synonyms at blemish.

    3. A mistake; an error.

    4. A minor offense or misdeed.

  2. Responsibility for a mistake or an offense; culpability. See Synonyms at blame.

  3. 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.

  4. Electronics A defect in a circuit or wiring caused by imperfect connections, poor insulation, grounding, or shorting.

  5. Sports A bad service, as in tennis.

  6. Obsolete A lack or deficiency.

v.   fault·ed, fault·ing, faults

v.   tr.

  1. To find error or defect in; criticize or blame.

  2. Geology To produce a fault in; fracture.

v.   intr.

  1. To commit a mistake or an error.

  2. 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.]
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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