mea culpa

[ mey-uh-kuhl-puh, mee-uh; Latin me-ah kool-pah ]
See synonyms for mea culpa on Thesaurus.com
interjection
  1. my fault! (used as an acknowledgment of one's responsibility).

nounplural me·a cul·pas.
  1. an acknowledgment of one's responsibility for a fault or error.

Origin of mea culpa

1
From Latin: literally “through my fault”; def. 1 was first recorded in 1200–50, and def. 2 in 1815–20; cf. culpa

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How to use mea culpa in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mea culpa

mea culpa

/ Latin (ˈmeɪɑː ˈkʊlpɑː) /


  1. an acknowledgment of guilt

Origin of mea culpa

1
literally: my fault

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for mea culpa

mea culpa

[ (may-uh kul-puh, kool-puh) ]


An expression from Catholic ritual that assigns blame to oneself: “I gave you the wrong directions to my house — mea culpa.” From Latin, meaning “my fault” or “my blame.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.