culprit
nouncommon in dialogue
- //ˈkʌlpɹɪt//
The person or thing at fault for a problem or crime.
noun
- 1
The person or thing at fault for a problem or crime.
I have tightened the loose bolt that was the culprit; it should work now.
Another sits beneath the purple canopy—a lady, but alone. The diadem is on her cold and haughty brow; there is no pity in her stern aspect, and the smile on her lip bodes death. Before her stands the lovely culprit, whose fatal beauty, and still more fatal love, are about to be dearly requited.
Railway police are making a full investigation into the matter, and the headmasters of schools have been approached, but it is difficult in such cases to discover the culprits, unless they are caught red-handed.
But the Dutch dominated only to waste numerous efforts, with Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie the main culprits.
- 2
A prisoner accused but not yet tried.
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman cul. prit, contraction of culpable: prest (d'averrer nostre bille) 'guilty: ready (to prove our case)', words used by prosecutor in opening a trial, mistaken in English for an address to the defendant. See culpable. It may have been influenced by Latin culpa (“blame, fault”).
Forms
- plural
- culprits
culprit · The person or thing at fault for a problem or crime.
cult · The veneration, devotion, and religious rites given to a…cultivate · To grow plants, notably crops.cultural · Pertaining to culture.