Added 9 October 2026
fault
/fɔːlt/ noun
In Latin: culpa Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fault at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention.
he made a bad mistake
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An imperfection in an object or machine.
a flaw caused the crystal to shatter
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The quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection.
they discussed the merits and demerits of her novel
verb
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)