guilty party
noun
: the person who committed a crime
Police have not been able to identify the guilty party.
Examples of guilty party in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Kym is the family fuckup and a guilty party to its biggest tragedy but also constantly pokes the bear as its selfish verbal assassin.
—
Chris Feil, Vulture, 1 May 2026
Floyd’s unexplained death in a local community pool complex leaves two detectives looking for the guilty party.
—Virgie Tovar, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2026
In cases where the lien is found to be fraudulent, the bill would make the guilty party liable to the victim for three times the amount of court fees paid.
—Melody Gutierrez, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Sure enough, the video confirmed Lily as the guilty party, with the husky opting to occupy herself with the plant, resulting in one almighty mess.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
If only those players were the lone guilty party.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
The guilty party were Doncaster Rovers, during a pre-season friendly against Blackpool over the weekend.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 28 July 2025
Cabot, clearly mortified, turned and hid her face, and Andy Byron sunk out of the frame like the guilty party in a lineup of potential perps.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2025
The guilty party was collared by security and reported to Florence judicial authorities.
—News Desk, Artforum, 25 June 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Chris Feil, Vulture, 1 May 2026
Floyd’s unexplained death in a local community pool complex leaves two detectives looking for the guilty party.
—Virgie Tovar, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2026
In cases where the lien is found to be fraudulent, the bill would make the guilty party liable to the victim for three times the amount of court fees paid.
—Melody Gutierrez, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Sure enough, the video confirmed Lily as the guilty party, with the husky opting to occupy herself with the plant, resulting in one almighty mess.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
If only those players were the lone guilty party.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
The guilty party were Doncaster Rovers, during a pre-season friendly against Blackpool over the weekend.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 28 July 2025
Cabot, clearly mortified, turned and hid her face, and Andy Byron sunk out of the frame like the guilty party in a lineup of potential perps.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2025
The guilty party was collared by security and reported to Florence judicial authorities.
—News Desk, Artforum, 25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Guilty party.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guilty%20party. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
