Meaning & use
to be at fault
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Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
to be responsible for a mistake, accident, or bad situation
Grammar: Used with 'be' as the verb: 'She is at fault.' Often followed by 'for' plus the thing: 'at fault for the delay.'
Patterns
- be at fault
- be at fault for something
The company admitted it was at fault for the data leak.
If the car didn't stop, the other driver is at fault.
Neither side wanted to be at fault, so they blamed each other.
Common combinations
- be at fault for
- He was at fault for the accounting error.
- admit to being at fault
- She admitted to being at fault and apologized.
- partly at fault
- Both drivers were partly at fault in the crash.
- entirely at fault
- The report said the pilot was entirely at fault.
Synonyms and how they differ
- to blame
- Similar meaning, but 'to blame' is often used in the pattern 'be to blame for something' and is slightly more common in everyday speech.
- responsible
- More formal and general; it can also mean 'in charge of' rather than 'guilty of a mistake'.
Opposites
Commonly confused: to be at fault or fault?
to be at fault vs fault
As a noun, 'fault' means a mistake or a weakness, e.g., 'It's my fault.' The phrase 'at fault' is an adjective-like expression meaning 'responsible'.
Practice
The mechanic said the engine failure was not the driver's mistake. Which sentence correctly uses 'at fault'?
Choose one answer.
The correct pattern is 'at fault for something'. The other options use wrong prepositions ('of', 'to', 'on') that do not fit this fixed phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “to be at fault”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.