a person who has done something wrong or against the law 犯错的人；罪犯 The police quickly identified the real culprits. 警方很快查出了真正的罪犯。 Police hunting the culprits have condemned the attack. 追缉凶犯的警方对这次袭击给予了谴责。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- chief
- main
- …
- hunt
- hunt for
- apprehend
- …
a person or thing responsible for causing a problem 肇事者；引起问题的事物 The main culprit in the current crisis seems to be modern farming techniques. 当前这场危机的罪魁祸首好像是现代农业技术。 Keep the kitchen clear of all sources of bacteria, not forgetting the biggest culprit of all—the dishcloth. 保持厨房不存在任何细菌滋生源，别忘了碗碟抹布这个最大的细菌滋生源。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- chief
- main
- …
- hunt
- hunt for
- apprehend
- …
Word Originlate 17th cent. (originally in the formula Culprit, how will you be tried?, said by the Clerk of the Crown to a prisoner pleading not guilty): perhaps from a misinterpretation of the written abbreviation cul. prist for Anglo-Norman French Culpable: prest d'averrer notre bille ‘(You are) guilty: (We are) ready to prove our indictment’; in later use influenced by Latin culpa ‘fault, blame’.