When you are talking about a crime or something wrong that has been done, you can refer to the person who did it as theculprit.
The culprits in the robbery have not been identified.
Synonyms: offender, criminal, villain, sinner More Synonyms of culprit
2. countable noun
When you are talking about a problem or bad situation, you can refer to its cause as theculprit.
About 10% of Japanese teenagers are overweight. The main culprit is Western fastfood.
culprit in British English
(ˈkʌlprɪt)
noun
1. law
a person awaiting trial, esp one who has pleaded not guilty
2.
the person responsible for a particular offence, misdeed, etc
Word origin
C17: 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 in American English
(ˈkʌlprɪt)
noun
1.
a person guilty of a crime or offense; offender
2. Archaic
a person accused of a crime, esp. by arraignment before a law court
Word origin
< Anglo-Fr cul. prit, contr. for phr. culpable, prit (a averer nostre bille), lit., guilty, ready (to prove our case): words used by prosecutor in opening case< culpable (see culpable) + prit, for OFr prest < LL praestus, ready
COBUILD Collocations
culprit
likely culprit
main culprit
Examples of 'culprit' in a sentence
culprit
The smart airlines are the real culprits.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Officers were last night unable to say if the culprit was known to the woman.
The Sun (2014)
Teachers want to be able to spot the real culprit when the emotional contagion is negative.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
So who are the real culprits here?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
But the real culprit is the huge taxes now imposed on sale of houses.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But some should look in the mirror if they want to see the real culprit.
The Sun (2008)
Yet it turns out the real culprit behind the most breathtaking series of security breaches is the government itself.
The Sun (2008)
But one culprit at a time.
The Sun (2009)
The culprit should be responsible 4 any injury payout.
The Sun (2009)
Overall, cops catch the culprit in just one in eight burglaries.
The Sun (2016)
The first time we've been able to identify the main culprits by haircut and name alone.
The Sun (2008)
Different moulds peak at certain times of the year and it may be possible from this to deduce which one is the culprit.
Mumby, Keith The Allergy Handbook (1988)
Indeed, the euro is the main culprit in the current calamity.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
But that's only one of many culprits.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Fame is the main culprit, bringing with it too much money and too much pressure.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
I wonder if misplaced priorities is one of the culprits.
Christianity Today (2000)
Growing pessimism over employment prospects was identified yesterday as the main culprit for this month's slump in confidence.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It is a pattern which should not be modified, but applied strictly so that identification is made of culprit foods.
Chaitow, Leon The Beat Fatigue Workbook - how to identify the causes (1988)
But in putting the politicians in the dock and casting the public as their victims, he got the wrong culprit.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Here are the main culprits.
The Sun (2007)
Solar power was a particular culprit, with subsidies per worker exceeding average wages but with very little to show for it.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
If a reaction is noted in the form of a return of symptoms, then you should exclude the culprit food for the present.
Chaitow, Leon The Beat Fatigue Workbook - how to identify the causes (1988)
He then joked that he expected I would be representing one of the culprits in due course.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In other languages
culprit
British English: culprit /ˈkʌlprɪt/ NOUN
The person who committed a crime or did something wrong can be referred to as the culprit.
We do not know who the culprits are.
American English: culprit
Arabic: مُذْنِب
Brazilian Portuguese: acusado
Chinese: 刑事被告
Croatian: krivac
Czech: viník
Danish: gerningsmand
Dutch: dader
European Spanish: culpable inculpado
Finnish: syyllinen
French: coupable
German: Täter
Greek: υπαίτιος
Italian: colpevole
Japanese: 犯罪者
Korean: 범인
Norwegian: skurk
Polish: winowajca
European Portuguese: culpado
Romanian: inculpat
Russian: обвиняемый
Latin American Spanish: culpable
Swedish: missdådare
Thai: ผู้กระทำความผิด
Turkish: fail
Ukrainian: винуватець
Vietnamese: thủ phạm
Chinese translation of 'culprit'
culprit
(ˈkʌlprɪt)
n(c)
(= perpetrator) 罪犯 (zuìfàn) (名, míng)
(= cause) 原因 (yuányīn) (个(個), gè)
(noun)
Definition
the person guilty of an offence or misdeed
The real culprits in the fight have not yet been identified.
Synonyms
offender
The judge sentenced her to seven years as a repeat offender.
criminal
He was put in a cell with several hardened criminals.
villain
As a copper, I've spent my life putting villains like him away.
sinner
I was shown that I was a sinner, that I needed to repent.
delinquent
a young delinquent
felon
He's a convicted felon.
person responsible
guilty party
wrongdoer
ways to punish the wrongdoer so he will not offend again
miscreant
Local people demanded that the magistrate apprehend the miscreants.
malefactor
evildoer
transgressor
perp (US, Canadian, informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of criminal
Definition
a person guilty of a crime
He was put in a cell with several hardened criminals.