culprit

[ kuhl-prit ]
See synonyms for: culpritculprits on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person or other agent guilty of or responsible for an offense or fault.

  2. a person arraigned for an offense.

Origin of culprit

1
1670–80; traditionally explained as cul (representing Latin culpābilis guilty) + prit (representing Anglo-French prest ready), marking the prosecution as ready to prove the defendant's guilt. See culpable, presto

Words Nearby culprit

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How to use culprit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for culprit

culprit

/ (ˈkʌlprɪt) /


noun
  1. law a person awaiting trial, esp one who has pleaded not guilty

  2. the person responsible for a particular offence, misdeed, etc

Origin of culprit

1
C17: from Anglo-French cul-, short for culpable guilty + prit ready, indicating that the prosecution was ready to prove the guilt of the one charged

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