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

mea culpas plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• mea culpas
  plural

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; cf. culpa ( def. )

Example Sentences

The mea culpa was well-received by the trio and underscored Cora’s ability to smooth over even the most awkward situations.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

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

A senior Tory told me after the election defeat the party had to "go everywhere and do a mea culpa, to listen and take a kicking".

From BBC • Oct. 4, 2025

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