fault
55
6.1
- noun
- /fɔlt/
- Specialized
- Of course this place is built on a fault line.
- a fault line
- San Andreas fault
- earthquake on a fault
Examples
-
In order to split this rock on the fault line, we're gonna have to drill to 800 feet.
-
Studies using this technique indicate that earthquakes along California's San Andreas fault have occurred more frequently than previously estimated.
Academic text (1999) -
Maybe the fault line runs just directly under our house.
-
It's like a theme park built on a fault line.
-
Today, rising house prices around the world have become a new fault line in politics, and it's one with unpredictable consequences.
-
Nothing is better designed to expose the fault lines of British society than the debate over educational standards.
Academic text (1994) -
The magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit just north of the Puente Hills fault less than an hour ago.
-
The school sat on a cultural fault line between federal assimilation and tribal self-determination.
Academic text (2008) -
In general, both countries have a very strong Shia Sunni tension on the fault line of sectarian division.
-
The geologist explained how the earthquake was caused by movement along a fault in the earth's crust.
Synonyms
23
4.7
A crack in the ground where the land moves, often causing earthquakes
1
8.1
A break in rocks where the top part moves up over the lower part
1
5.0
A crack in the Earth's crust where rock layers move
1
7.4
A break in the ground where two rock blocks move past each other horizontally
1
7.0
A sloping break in the Earth's crust where the upper side moves down past the lower side
1
9.6
A break in rock where strong sideways force pushes one rock layer up and over another
1
9.0
A break in the ground where one side moves up at an angle
A sloping break in rock where the upper block moves down because of its weight
Idioms
Compounds
- Specialized
1
4.3
A system where each driver's own plan pays for their crash costs no matter who caused it
- Specialized
1
5.6
Car insurance where each driver gets money from their own insurance company after a crash, no matter who caused it
- Specialized
1
7.4
A break in the ground where two rock blocks move past each other horizontally
- Specialized
1
7.0
A sloping break in the Earth's crust where the upper side moves down past the lower side
- Specialized
1
8.3
A break in rock where one side moves up when the land is pushed together
- Specialized
1
9.6
A break in rock where strong sideways force pushes one rock layer up and over another
- Specialized
A sloping break in rock where the upper block moves down because of its weight
Surface Forms
Etymology
Fault comes from Old French faute, from a Latin verb that meant 'to fail', like the English word fail. In geology a fault is a crack where the ground has 'failed' and moved, so the name shows the earth has broken or slipped there.