culprit

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“
Technically, anytime you get sick, the culprit is a new strain.

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Definitions (6)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun One charged with an offense or crime.
  2. noun One guilty of a fault or crime.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (46)

  • If you've been having trouble sleeping, the culprit might be your cholesterol-lowering medication. —  RNews - TOP STORIES
  • So maybe the culprit is the housing bubble that developed in the late 1990s, and the reluctance of Alan Greenspan's Federal Reserve to deflate it. —  rediff.com
  • It took me several hours to find out that the culprit was the Norton firewall. —  All Things Digital
  • I think we all know who the culprit is here. 143. —  WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
  • Head coach Jim Knowles said the culprit has been a circumstance of the scoreboard. —  theithacajournal.com -
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This word has been looked up 85 times.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Probably from cul. prit, abbreviation for Anglo-Norman *culpable: prit d'averrer nostre bille, guilty: (I am) ready to aver our indictment : culpable, guilty (from Latin culpābilis; see culpable) + *prit, ready (variant of prest, from Latin praestō; see presto).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Prob. (with intrusive r) for *culpat, from Latin culpatus (law Lat. for ‘the accused’), past participle of culpare, blame, censure, reprove: see culpable.
 

Pronunciations
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/ˈkəlprɪt/
by American Heritage

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