From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishculpritcul‧prit /ˈkʌlprɪt/ noun [countable] 1 SCCthe person who is guilty of a crime or doing something wrong → victim Police finally managed to catch the culprit.2 informalREASON the reason for a particular problem or difficulty High production costs are the main culprit.
Examples from the Corpus
culprit• Parents who leave the kids with the babysitter and go out because they feel they should are among the biggest culprits.• Any of the eight inmates of the manor could be the culprit.• The police did everything they could to try and track down the culprit, but he was never caught.• The FBI was called in to help track down the culprits.• Everyone in the class started laughing and the teacher began searching for the culprit.• Plaque is the culprit that causes tooth decay.• But the union representing librarians countered that the culprits were incompetent management and expensive technology.• Later I discovered that the culprit was the battery.• And do you know, the new look was the culprit?• Supreme Court officials acknowledge that their own telephone system was the culprit for the leak.• Some money was taken from my desk yesterday. I think I know who the culprit is.the main culprit• Children are the main culprits, especially if they are interested in ball games.• Pollution and house dust mites are the main culprits.• Humidity and mineral salts are the main culprits.• Another potential hazard is suction burn - toy car phones being the main culprit and parents usually the victim.• But the main culprit seems to be modern farming techniques.• In none of these countries is population growth the main culprit.• Some say automation is the main culprit.• They argue that the main culprits have been local authorities and that their spending must be further curtailed.Origin culprit (1600-1700) Anglo-French cul (from culpable “guilty”) + prit “ready (to prove it)” 