Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who is responsible for a crime or other misdeed: The word "culprit" refers to someone who has committed an offense or is guilty of wrongdoing.
   • The source or cause of a problem or defect: In a broader or more figurative sense, "culprit" can refer to the thing or factor that is the cause of a particular problem.

Usage and Examples

• Noun (Person):
  • The police are still searching for the culprit who vandalized the building.
  • In the story, the butler turned out to be the culprit.
• Noun (Cause):
  • The main culprit for the engine failure was a faulty wire.
  • Sugar is often the culprit behind tooth decay.

Advanced Usage

• "The usual suspect": A common or likely culprit.
  • Whenever the computer crashes, a lack of memory is the usual suspect.
• "Apprehend/catch the culprit": To find and stop the person responsible.
  • The security system helped the store owner catch the culprit.

Variants and Related Words

• Culpable (adj): Deserving blame; responsible for a fault or wrong.
  • The manager was held culpable for the safety violations.
• Culpability (n): Responsibility for a fault or wrong; blameworthiness.
  • The investigation aimed to determine the culpability of each party involved.

Synonyms

• Perpetrator: A person who carries out a harmful, illegal, or immoral act.
• Offender: A person who commits an illegal act.
• Wrongdoer: A person who behaves illegally or dishonestly.

Antonyms

• Victim: A person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event.
• Innocent: A person not guilty of a crime or offense.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "To have blood on one's hands": To be responsible for someone's death or suffering (implies a more serious level of culpability).
  • The corrupt official had blood on his hands after the factory collapse.
• "The guilty party": The person or group responsible for an error or misdeed (often used interchangeably with "culprit").
  • We need to find the guilty party before we can fix this mistake.

Noun

1. someone who perpetrates wrongdoing