mea culpa

me·a cul·pa

(mā′ə ko͝ol′pə, kŭl′-, mē′ə)

n.

An acknowledgment of a personal error or fault: The authors issued a mea culpa after their plagiarism was revealed.

interj.

Used to express guilt for a personal error or fault.

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[Latin meā culpā, through my fault : meā, feminine ablative of meus, my + culpā, ablative of culpa, fault.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mea culpa

(ˈmeɪɑː ˈkʊlpɑː)

an acknowledgment of guilt

[literally: my fault]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

me•a cul•pa

(ˈmɛ ɑ ˈkʊl pɑ; Eng. ˈmeɪ ə ˈkʌl pə)

Latin. through my fault (used as an acknowledgment of personal error).

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

mea culpa

A Latin phrase meaning my fault, used to acknowledge guilt, especially in Roman Catholic ritual.

Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

mea culpa - an acknowledgment of your error or guilt acknowledgement, acknowledgment - a statement acknowledging something or someone; "she must have seen him but she gave no sign of acknowledgment"; "the preface contained an acknowledgment of those who had helped her"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

mea culpa

noun

A statement of acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon:

apology, excuse, regret (used in plural).

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.