mea culpa
interjection
my fault! (used as an acknowledgment of one's responsibility).
mea culpas
-
pluralof mea culpa.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
We’ve had a run of mea culpas lately.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
People have gotten so used to preemptively apologizing for what they like that their mea culpas feel as reflexive as a sneeze.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The filmmakers of Schrader’s generation — Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese in particular — keep making films that feel like manifestoes and mea culpas all rolled into one.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
We reached that conclusion after comparing the frequency of public mea culpas across the Power Five — situations so egregious that conferences were forced to publicly acknowledge mistakes.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2022
Maya had thought of a thousand different things to say to her: apologies and confessions, tears and mea culpas, detailed explanations of how stupid Maya could be, how stubborn she was.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
