To implicate someone means to show or suggest that they were involved in something wrong or harmful. When evidence implicates a suspect in a crime, it points toward their involvement. If fingerprints are found at the scene of a theft, those fingerprints implicate whoever left them there.

The word often appears in mysteries and detective stories. A witness might implicate someone by describing what they saw, or a document might implicate several people in a scheme. When someone is implicated, they haven't necessarily been proven guilty yet, but the evidence suggests they played a role.

You can also implicate yourself accidentally. If someone asks who broke the vase and you immediately say “I didn't touch it!” even though nobody mentioned a vase, you've implicated yourself by revealing you knew about it.

The related noun is implication. If your friend says “I heard someone got into the teacher's desk,” the implication might be that they suspect you. They didn't say it directly, but the meaning is lurking beneath their words.