no-fault

adjective

ˈnō-ˈfȯlt 

1

: of, relating to, or being a motor vehicle insurance plan under which someone involved in an accident is compensated usually up to a stipulated limit for actual losses (as for property damage, medical bills, and lost wages) by that person's own insurance company regardless of who is responsible for the accident

2

: of, relating to, or being a divorce law under which neither party is held responsible for the breakup of the marriage

3

: characterized by the absence of a prevailing sense of individual responsibility (as for behavior)

Examples of no-fault in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The city of San Diego approved additional renter protections in 2023 that included limits on no-fault evictions such as requiring a landlord to provide the tenant relocation assistance along with two months’ rent. —Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2025

So a bipartisan group in Congress hammered out the no-fault system. —Patricia Callahan, CNN Money, 18 July 2025

In her retirement years, Dobbins worked as a mediator through the Alternatives to Violence Project, helping to solve legal disputes in schools, aftercare programs, jails, and prisons as well as in no-fault divorces. —Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 12 July 2025

Just like no-fault divorce, there is no defense to a partition lawsuit by the other owner of the home. —Christopher A. Combs, AZCentral.com, 8 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for no-fault

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Legal Definition

no-fault

adjective

1

: of, relating to, or being a motor vehicle insurance plan under which someone injured in an accident is compensated usually up to a stipulated limit for especially actual losses (as for property damage, medical bills, and lost wages) by that person's own insurer regardless of who is responsible for the accident and is prohibited from or limited in his or her right to sue the responsible party

2

: of or relating to no-fault divorce

a no-fault ground for dissolution

see also no-fault divorce at divorce