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Fraud vs Fault - What's the difference?

fraud | fault |

In obsolete terms the difference between fraud and fault

is that fraud is to defraud while fault is want; lack.

fraud

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • Any act of deception carried out for the purpose of unfair, undeserved and/or unlawful gain.
  • * Alexander Pope
    • If success a lover's toil attends, / Few ask, if fraud or force attained his ends.
  • * {{quote-book, year=2006, author=
    • , title=Internal Combustion , chapter=1 citation , passage=But electric vehicles and the batteries that made them run became ensnared in corporate scandals, fraud , and monopolistic corruption that shook the confidence of the nation and inspired automotive upstarts.}}
  • The assumption of a false identity to such deceptive end.
  • A person who performs any such trick.
  • (obsolete) A trap or snare.
  • * Milton
    • to draw the proud King Ahab into fraud

    Synonyms

    * (criminal) deceit * trickery * hoky-poky * imposture * (person ) faker, fraudster, impostor, cheat(er), trickster

    Related terms

    * defraud * fraudulence * fraudulent * fraudulently * fraudulentness * insurance fraud * mail fraud * pious fraud * wire fraud

    See also

    * embezzlement * false billing * false advertising * forgery * identity theft * predatory lending * quackery * usury * white-collar crime

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To defraud

    • fault

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A defect; something that detracts from perfection.
  • * Shakespeare
    • As patches set upon a little breach / Discredit more in hiding of the fault .
  • A mistake or error.
    • No!. This is my fault, not yours
  • A weakness of character; a failing.
    • For all her faults , she's a good person at heart.
  • A minor offense.
  • Blame; the responsibility for a mistake.
    • The fault lies with you.
  • (seismology) A fracture in a rock formation causing a discontinuity.
  • (mining) In coal seams, coal rendered worthless by impurities in the seam.
    • slate fault''', dirt '''fault , etc.
    (Raymond)
  • (tennis) An illegal serve.
  • (electrical) An abnormal connection in a circuit.
  • (obsolete) want; lack
  • * Shakespeare
    • one, it pleases me, for fault of a better, to call my friend
  • (hunting) A lost scent; act of losing the scent.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Ceasing their clamorous cry till they have singled, / With much ado, the cold fault clearly out.

    Derived terms

    * at fault * double fault * to a fault

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To criticize, blame or find fault with something or someone.
  • * Traditional song
    • For that I will not fault thee / But for humbleness exalt thee.
  • (geology) To fracture.
  • To commit a mistake or error.
  • (computing) To undergo a page fault.
  • * 2002 , Æleen Frisch, Essential system administration
    • When a page is read in, a few pages surrounding the faulted page are typically loaded as well in the same I/O operation in an effort to head off future page faults.