mea culpa
noun
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Mea culpa, which means "through my fault" in Latin, comes from a prayer of confession in the Catholic Church. Said by itself, it's an exclamation of apology or remorse that is used to mean "It was my fault" or "I apologize." Mea culpa is also a noun, however. A newspaper might issue a mea culpa for printing inaccurate information, or a politician might give a speech making mea culpas for past wrongdoings. Mea culpa is one of many English terms that derive from the Latin culpa, meaning "guilt." Some other examples are culpable ("meriting condemnation or blame especially as wrong or harmful"), culprit ("one guilty of a crime or a fault"), and exculpate ("to clear from alleged fault or guilt").
Examples of mea culpa in a Sentence
Schuyler Dixon, Hartford Courant, 5 June 2024
Ventura issued her first statement in response to Combs’ mea culpa on Thursday, calling on people to believe domestic abuse survivors.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 23 May 2024
Unlike so many volumes written since 2016, this is not a tell-all about Donald Trump’s presidency or a mea culpa from a staffer from his administration.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 10 Mar. 2024
The mainstream media spent a lot of time and energy after Trump came to power issuing mea culpas.
—Ece Temelkuran, Foreign Affairs, 22 July 2020
See all Example Sentences for mea culpa 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mea culpa.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Mea culpa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mea%20culpa. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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