fault

The word “fault” means responsibility for a mistake or wrongdoing. In plain terms, a mistake, weakness, or the blame for something going wrong.

“Fault” is pronounced fawlt (/fɔlt/ in IPA).

Here is “fault” used in a sentence: “It wasn't her fault that the flight was delayed.”

Depending on how it is used, “fault” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “fault” comes from Vulgar Latin. From Old French faute, ultimately from Vulgar Latin fallita, "a shortcoming", related to Latin fallere, "to deceive".

“Fault” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Fault” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: responsibility for a mistake or wrongdoing.

Fault is the responsibility for something going wrong, where the mistake actually lies. Blame is the act of assigning that responsibility to someone. Fault is a fact about who caused a problem; blame is what people direct at them for it. You can be at fault before anyone has placed the blame.

A mistake is the wrong action itself, the error someone makes. Fault is the responsibility for that error, the sense of who is to blame. You make a mistake, but the fault is yours for making it. One names the wrong thing done; the other names who is answerable for it.

To be at fault means to be the one responsible for a mistake, accident, or problem. If a driver is at fault in a crash, their actions caused it. The phrase points to blame without necessarily implying deliberate wrongdoing, since a person can be at fault simply through carelessness or error.

Usually yes, since it points to a mistake, a flaw, or responsibility for something going wrong, all of which carry blame. But the phrase 'to a fault' leans positive, meaning to an excessive degree of a good quality, as in 'generous to a fault'. Context decides how critical the word sounds.