at fault
Deserving the blame
At fault means responsible for something that went wrong—deserving blame for an error, accident, or bad outcome.
The phrase appears frequently in insurance and legal contexts: The other driver was at fault.
It can also describe someone confused or uncertain: I was completely at fault about what to do next, though this sense is now rare.
- culpableDeserving of blame
- blameworthyDeserving of censure
- liableLegally responsible for something
- answerableLiable to account
- guiltyResponsible for wrongdoing
held accountable · caught red-handed · wrongdoing · tortfeasor · accountable · erring · dropped the ball · misstep · remiss · responsible · negligent · oversight · in the wrong · to blame · misconduct · take the blame · defendant · transgression
- accountabilityaccountability, responsibility, accountable, take responsibility, answerability
- phrasesnoun phrases, noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, prepositional phrases
- at faultguilty, to blame, culpable, blameworthy, responsible
- admissionsapplication, acceptance letter, admissions, application deadline, admissions committee
- responsibility wordsaccountable, reliable, dependable, trustworthy, responsible
- off targetoff target, off-target, off the mark, wide of the mark, wide