culprit

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They note that the main culprit was a “catastrophically bad control-room design” where workers “were unable to understand what was going wrong.”

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026

Recession was the most frequent culprit, responsible for driving losses of 10% or greater in eight of the 12 examples.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

According to analysts interviewed for this column, the primary culprit is the game that companies and analysts play to keep expectations low before earnings reports.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

The culprit was found to be an overheated circuit board at a facility in Virginia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

Headmarveller Rivera plucked the culprit from Samaira's grip.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton