mea culpa

American  

[mey-uh kuhl-puh, mee-uh, me-ah kool-pah] / ˈmeɪ ə ˈkʌl pə, ˈmi ə, ˈmɛ ɑ ˈkʊl pɑ /

interjection

1. my fault! (used as an acknowledgment of one's responsibility).

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noun

plural

mea culpas

1. an acknowledgment of one's responsibility for a fault or error.

mea culpa British  

/ ˈmeɪɑː ˈkʊlpɑː /

1. an acknowledgment of guilt

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mea culpa Cultural  

1. 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.”

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Usage

What does mea culpa mean? Mea culpa is the Latin way of saying my bad. It literally means “through my (own) fault.”Mea culpa can be used as an interjection (much like my fault or my bad) or as a noun referring to an apology, as in The senator offered a mea culpa during the press conference.Example: Dave usually has a hard time admitting he’s wrong, so his mea culpa means a lot.

Etymology

Origin of mea culpa

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

Example Sentences

Mr. Steyer has endorsed them, but it’s never too late for a mea culpa.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

Montier’s mea culpa came in 2022, when he reflected on why his argument had been so wrong.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 24, 2025

When James Comey assumed the role of FBI director in 2013, he made a bit of a mea culpa.

From Salon • Aug. 18, 2025

But his mea culpa did little to appease the public.

From BBC • Dec. 7, 2024

I'm not blaming anyone for this state of affairs, mind you; nor merely crying mea culpa.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

Related Words

• my bad
• my fault