CULPRIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does culprit mean? 

• CULPRIT (noun)
  The noun CULPRIT has 1 sense:

1. someone who perpetrates wrongdoing

  Familiarity information: CULPRIT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CULPRIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Someone who perpetrates wrongdoing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

culprit; perpetrator

Hypernyms ("culprit" is a kind of...):

offender; wrongdoer (a person who transgresses moral or civil law)

 Context examples 

While high saturated fat levels in red meat have long been known to contribute to heart disease, a growing number of studies have identified TMAO as another culprit.

(Study links frequent red meat consumption to high levels of chemical associated with heart disease, National Institutes of Health)

This reference library will allow doctors in future to identify those culprits responsible for causing cancer.

(‘Fingerprint database’ could help scientists to identify new cancer culprits, University of Cambridge)

Or the culprit is hydraulic failure: the inability of a plant to move water from roots to leaves.

(What's killing trees during droughts?, National Science Foundation)

Researchers point to many causes for the drop in bee populations, with parasites, particularly the varroa mite, and other diseases as the main culprits.

(Study Finds Mixed News About Bee Populations, VOA)

That in itself is enough to show us that the shoe had been drawn in that direction, and that the culprit had taken refuge there.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Nanoparticles in ambient air come from both natural and artificial sources, but vehicles are the main culprit.

(Nanoparticles raise vascular risk by escaping the lungs, SciDev.Net)

Our team was happy to contribute to the finding that a mutation in CDH2 is the underlying culprit in a portion of these patients.

(Gene Causes Sudden Death in Young People, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Then West, if he is the culprit, must have had a duplicate.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Most commonly, this is attributed to viruses; however bacteria, parasites or adverse reactions can also be the culprit.

(Gastroenteritis, NCI Thesaurus)

Common culprits include bacteria, parasites and viruses.

(Foodborne Illness, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)