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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In 1918, Soviet women were given the right to higher education, equal pay, no-fault civil divorce, child support (including for children born out of wedlock), paid maternity leave, and access to free maternity hospitals. Julia Ioffe, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025 Ironically, the 1971 No-Fault Law that aimed to reduce fraud and litigation costs is a major cause of auto insurance fraud in the state, with The Insurance Research Council estimating that one out of 10 no-fault claims are fraudulent and one in three are exaggerated. Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for no-fault

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of no-fault was in 1967

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“No-fault.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/no-fault. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!