Macmillan Dictionary

Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

fault

 - definition
 
 
 
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun British English pronunciation: fault /fɔːlt/ 
Word Forms
Close
singularfault
pluralfaults
Other entries for this word
  1. 1
    [countable/uncountable] the fact of being responsible for a bad or unpleasant situation
    be someone's fault:

    It's my fault – I forgot to give him the message.

    be someone's fault (that):

    It's not my fault that we're late.

    be someone's own fault:

    If you didn't get enough sleep, it's your own fault.

    be all someone's fault:

    We've missed the plane and it's all your fault!

    be someone's fault for doing something:

    It was partly the teacher's fault for not explaining things clearly enough.

    through no fault of your own:

    He seems to have lost the job through no fault of his own.

    the fault lies with:

    If a child does not attend school, the fault lies with the parent.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of fault
  2. 2
    [countable] a feature of something that makes it less good

    The book's main fault is that it is too long.

    for all something's faults (=despite them):

    For all its faults, it is still the best small car on the market.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of fault
    1. a.
      a problem with a machine or piece of equipment that stops it from working correctly
      fault in:

      An engineer was called out to repair a fault in the alarm system.

      an electrical/mechanical/technical fault:

      The fire was caused by an electrical fault.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of fault
    2. b.
      a bad part of someone's character

      She has her faults, but on the whole she's very nice.

      for all someone's faults (=despite them):

      For all his faults, he's been a very good friend to me.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of fault
    3. c.
      a small mistake in a product that spoils its appearance slightly and makes it less than perfect

      Clothes with faults are sold off cheaply through market stalls.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of fault
  4. 4
    [countable] science a crack on or below the Earth's surface

    a geological fault

    the San Andreas Fault

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of fault

phrases

This is the British English definition of fault. View American English definition of fault.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

charticle

a news article that consists of a chart … and only has a small amount of text

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day

proton

the part of the nucleus of an atom that has a positive electrical charge

Open Dictionary

never event

an event that should never occur in a healthcare setting …

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog