From Middle English faulte, faulte, from Anglo-Norman faute, Old French faute, from Vulgar Latin *fallita, feminine of *fallitus, in place of Latin falsus, perfect passive participle of fallō ("deceive").

• (RP) IPA: /fɔːlt/, /fɒlt/
• (America) IPA: /fɔlt/
  • (cot-caught) IPA: /fɑlt/
• (Canada) IPA: [fɒːlt]

fault (plural faults)

1. A defect; something that detracts from perfection.
   • c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     As patches set upon a little breach / Discredit more in hiding of the fault.

2. A mistake or error.

   No! This is my fault, not yours.

3. A weakness of character; a failing.

   Despite for all her faults, she’s a good person at heart.

4. A characteristic, positive or negative or both, which subjects a person or thing to increased risk of danger.

   You're still young, that's your fault.

   • 1970, Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman, Father and Son:
   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene ii]:

     The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.

5. A minor offense.
6. Blame; the responsibility for a mistake.

   The fault lies with you.

7. (seismology) A fracture in a rock formation causing a discontinuity.
8. (mining) In coal seams, coal rendered worthless by impurities in the seam.

   slate fault  dirt fault

9. (tennis) An illegal serve.
10. (electrical) An abnormal connection in a circuit.
11. (obsolete) want; lack
    • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene iv]:

      one, it pleases me, for fault of a better, to call my friend

12. (hunting) A lost scent; act of losing the scent.
    • 1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC ↗:

      Ceasing their clamorous cry till they have singled, / With much ado, the cold fault clearly out.

• See also Thesaurus:defect

• default

• French: défaut
• German: Fehler
• Italian: colpa, imperfezione
• Portuguese: defeito, falha
• Russian: дефе́кт
• Spanish: defecto, falla

• French: faute
• German: Schuld
• Italian: colpa
• Portuguese: culpa
• Russian: оши́бка
• Spanish: culpa

• German: Fehler, Charakterschwäche

• German: Verfehlung
• Italian: sbaglio
• Russian: просту́пок

• French: faute
• German: Schuld
• Italian: colpa, biasimo
• Russian: вина́
• Spanish: culpa

• French: faille, faute
• German: Bruchlinie
• Italian: fessura, crepa, frattura, faglia
• Portuguese: falha
• Russian: разло́м
• Spanish: falla

• German: Berge, Zwischenmittel

• German: Fehler
• Spanish: falta

• German: Kurzschluss, Brücke

• German: Ermangelung
• Russian: нехва́тка

fault (faults, present participle faulting; simple past and past participle faulted)

1. (transitive) To criticize, blame or find fault with something or someone.
   • a. 1723, unknown author, The Devonshire Nymph:

     For that, says he, I ne'er will fault thee / But for humbleness exalt thee.

2. (intransitive, geology) To fracture.
3. (intransitive) To commit a mistake or error.
4. (intransitive, computing) To undergo a page fault.
   • 2002, Æleen Frisch, Essential system administration:

     When a page is read in, a few pages surrounding the faulted page are typically loaded as well in the same I/O operation in an effort to head off future page faults.

• German: fehlen (exalted), sündigen (religious / coll.)