Culprit
/ˈkʌlpɹɪt/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The person or thing at fault for a problem or crime.
"I have tightened the loose bolt that was the culprit; it should work now."
- 2 someone who perpetrates wrongdoing wordnet
- 3 A prisoner accused but not yet tried. UK
Example
More examples"As I read through the letters, I realized that the Pope was the true culprit."
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman cul. prit, contraction of culpable: prest (d'averrer nostre bille) 'guilty: ready (to prove our case)', words used by prosecutor in opening a trial, mistaken in English for an address to the defendant. See culpable. It may have been influenced by Latin culpa (“blame, fault”).