fault
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/fɔːlt/ 
| singular | fault |
| plural | faults |
- 1[countable/uncountable] the fact of being responsible for a bad or unpleasant situationbe 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.
- 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.
phrases
at fault
responsible for a bad or unpleasant situationWhen a marriage breaks up it is very hard to say who is at fault.
The teacher was at fault for not telling the child’s parents.
find fault with
to a fault
formal
This is the British English definition of fault. View American English definition of fault
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