In sports, a fault is when a player makes a rule mistake or error during play. It changes the game or causes a penalty.
He made a fault in the tennis game.
The player was punished for the fault.
This use means a bad quality or problem in someone’s personality. It shows something not good in how a person acts or thinks.
Everyone has faults, like being too shy.
His fault is he forgets things often.
In this sense, fault means a physical crack or damage. It is a place where something is broken or not perfect.
The wall has a fault near the door.
There is a fault on the window glass.
This meaning happens in geology. A fault is a crack in the Earth’s surface where two parts move. This can cause earthquakes.
The earthquake happened along a fault line.
Faults can cause earthquakes in nature.
Used as a verb, to fault means to say someone is responsible for a problem. It means to find blame or mistake in a person or thing.
I don’t fault you for being late.
She faulted him for the error.
Fault can mean a problem or defect in a product, machine, or plan. It shows where something does not work well or fails.
The new phone has a fault in its software.
The fault caused the machine to stop.
