fault
verb/fɔːlt/
/fɔːlt/
usually used in negative sentences with can and couldVerb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they fault | /fɔːlt/ /fɔːlt/ |
| he / she / it faults | /fɔːlts/ /fɔːlts/ |
| past simple faulted | /ˈfɔːltɪd/ /ˈfɔːltɪd/ |
| past participle faulted | /ˈfɔːltɪd/ /ˈfɔːltɪd/ |
| -ing form faulting | /ˈfɔːltɪŋ/ /ˈfɔːltɪŋ/ |
- fault somebody/something to find a mistake or a weakness in somebody/something synonym criticize
- Her colleagues could not fault her dedication to the job.
- He had always been polite—she couldn't fault him on that.
Word OriginMiddle English faut(e) ‘lack, failing’, from Old French, based on Latin fallere ‘deceive’. The -l- was added (in French and English) in the 15th cent. to conform with the Latin word, but did not become standard in English until the 17th cent., remaining silent in pronunciation until well into the 18th.
Check pronunciation:
fault