fault
/fɔlt/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.64 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Culpability; the responsibility for a blameworthy event.
noun
A defect, imperfection, or weakness; more severe than a flaw.
noun
A defect, imperfection, or weakness; more severe than a flaw.
noun
A defect, imperfection, or weakness; more severe than a flaw.
Example Sentences
- "No, don't blame yourself. It's my fault that we lost the game."
- "I told them the pie was still too hot. If they burn their tongues, that's their fault."
- "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
- "A police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that a note found at the scene addressed to Ms. Spade's 13-year-old daughter indicated, among other things, that what had happened was not the child’s fault."
- "How many more innocent people and kids gotta get killed by these police, man? / And then it's always the victim's fault"
- "Despite all her faults, she’s a good person at heart."
Etymology
From Middle English faute, faulte, from Anglo-Norman faute, Old French faute, from Vulgar Latin *fallita (“shortcoming”), feminine of *fallitus, in place of Latin falsus, perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Displaced native Middle English schuld, schuild (“fault”) (from Old English scyld (“fault”)), Middle English lac (“fault, lack”) (from Middle Dutch lak (“lack, fault”)), Middle English last (“fault, vice”) (from Old Norse lǫstr (“fault, vice, crime”)). Compare French faute (“fault, foul”), Portuguese falta (“lack, shortage”) and Spanish falta (“lack, absence”). More at fail, false.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: faulte, faute, *fallita, falsus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /fɔlt/
- British English: /fɔːlt/