as in offender
a person who has committed a crime
the police caught the culprit a mere two blocks from the scene of the crime
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Recent Examples of culprit
Many companies will find that outdated technology and inefficient workflows are major culprits.
—
Casey Marquette, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
The true culprit, a rambunctious zebra, tears through the screen and plunges a normal suburban home into tumult with the help of some other animals and a stash of fireworks.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Related Articles Karen Read’s lawyers can try to argue ‘third-party culprit defense’ involving Brian Albert, Brian Higgins
What to know before Karen Read’s second murder trial
Who’s who in the Karen Read trial?
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2025
The results were unambiguous: more screen time correlated with less sleep, but social media was not the culprit alone.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culprit
Casey Marquette, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
The true culprit, a rambunctious zebra, tears through the screen and plunges a normal suburban home into tumult with the help of some other animals and a stash of fireworks.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Related Articles Karen Read’s lawyers can try to argue ‘third-party culprit defense’ involving Brian Albert, Brian Higgins
What to know before Karen Read’s second murder trial
Who’s who in the Karen Read trial?
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2025
The results were unambiguous: more screen time correlated with less sleep, but social media was not the culprit alone.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culprit
Cite this Entry
“Culprit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/culprit. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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