mea culpa
Americaninterjection
noun
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
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That led Judge Perry to retort: “You are significantly undercutting your mea culpa here by standing behind the charges and continuing to vilify these particular defendants.”
From Slate • May 22, 2026
But at the very least, it deserves some kind of mea culpa from Becerra or lessons learned, a more robust conversation than the brush-off it’s been getting.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
Mr. Steyer has endorsed them, but it’s never too late for a mea culpa.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025
In the aftermath of the 1-1 draw against St Mirren, there was no mea culpa about anything, just words about how the players are not responding.
From BBC • Aug. 24, 2025
Not only did she have to deliver the biggest mea culpa in NASA's history, every second of it would be remembered forever.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
