fault

Sense 1 noun

a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention

he made a bad mistake

Sense 2 verb

put or pin the blame on

Sense 3 noun

an imperfection in an object or machine

a flaw caused the crystal to shatter

Sense 4 noun

the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection

they discussed the merits and demerits of her novel

Sense 5 noun

(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other

they built it right over a geological fault

Sense 6 noun

(electronics) equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit (loose connection or insulation failure or short circuit etc.)

it took much longer to find the fault than to fix it

Sense 7 noun

responsibility for a bad situation or event

it was John's fault

Sense 8 noun

(sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area)

he served too many double faults