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perp

perp

148 8.6
A person who broke the law, often called a suspect by police
  • noun
  • /pɜrp/
  • Slang
translation icon : sospechoso
  • Meanwhile, the two perps who shot me are still out there.
  • victim and perp

I do hope when he does have his perp walk, I do hope they play that brass band.

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Examples

  • LETAC surveillance cameras got a picture of the perp as he left the building.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The detectives quickly identified the perp from the security footage.

  • You never knew when a perp might leave his vehicle behind.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The video surveillance cameras... caught a picture of the perp as he left the building.

  • The teen had been murdered, and he wanted the perp put away for good.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • You know, I saw in the police record that this perp also had a 1-year-old son.

  • Until we can clear him, he's our best and only perp.

  • Description of the perp matches the surveillance photographs from LETAC taken this morning.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • We got two perps holding up a gumball machine on 5th Street.

  • I deduced the milkman as the probable perp because of the note Figglesworth had found.

    Fiction book (1997)

Synonyms

perpetrator
vsperp
161 6.8

A person who commits a crime or other serious wrong

is an informal police slang term used instead of a more formal word

How Guilty

perp
  • Slang
148 8.6
offender
304 3.5
accused
2 3.6
suspect
3.4
innocent
54 3.4

Surface Forms

perp singular
perps plural

Etymology

Perp is police slang and a short form of perpetrator, meaning 'person who did the crime'. That is why news reports and officers often call a suspect the 'perp'.