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culprit

UK:^*^*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈkʌlprɪt/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈkʌlprɪt/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(kul′prit)

cul•prit /ˈkʌlprɪt/USA pronunciation n. [countable]

a person guilty of an offense or fault, or one accused:led in the culprits to stand before the judge.
Lawa thing responsible for some bad effect:The doctors found the culprit: the tick responsible for Lyme disease.

See -culp-.

cul•prit (kul′prit),USA pronunciation n.

a person or other agent guilty of or responsible for an offense or fault.
Lawa person arraigned for an offense.

traditionally explained as cul (representing Latin culpābilis guilty) + prit (representing Anglo-French prest ready), marking the prosecution as ready to prove the defendant's guilt. See culpable, presto 1670–80

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

culprit /ˈkʌlprɪt/ n

a person awaiting trial, esp one who has pleaded not guilty
the person responsible for a particular offence, misdeed, etc

Etymology: 17th Century: from Anglo-French cul-, short for culpable guilty + prit ready, indicating that the prosecution was ready to prove the guilt of the one charged

'culprit' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

deal with - you - criminal - investigate - John Doe - malefactor - wrongdoer - stone

In Lists: shoe dog words, IELTS Voc1, A-B-C, more...

Synonyms: offender, guilty party, person responsible, wrongdoer, criminal, more...

Collocations: always [looking, searching] for a culprit, the culprit of the [error, crime, murder], All culprits will be [penalized, prosecuted]., more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "culprit" in the title:

culprit <in/of> obesity
culprit vs delinquent vs offender
Culprit vs perpetrator
examples of an offender or culprit
I'm out of my mind for suspecting he is the culprit
some noted culprit, on whom the sentence...
substitute culprit
The culprit covers his face with his hands.
The culprit was caught with his fingers
Who is the biggest culprit

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culprit