To perpetrate means to carry out or commit a harmful, illegal, or dishonest act. Someone who perpetrates a crime is the person who actually does it. A vandal perpetrates damage when they spray-paint a building. A thief perpetrates a robbery when they steal from a store.

The word almost always describes bad actions. You wouldn't say someone perpetrated a good deed or perpetrated an act of kindness. Instead, you perpetrate crimes, frauds, hoaxes, or attacks. When detectives investigate a crime, they're trying to figure out who perpetrated it.

The person who perpetrates something is called a perpetrator. If someone breaks into a school building and causes damage, news reports might describe police searching for the perpetrator. In courtrooms, lawyers distinguish between the person who perpetrated a crime and innocent bystanders who happened to be nearby.

The word carries a sense of deliberate action and responsibility. When you say someone perpetrated something, you're pointing directly at them as the person who made it happen. It's a formal, serious word that often appears in news reports, police investigations, and legal discussions about who did what wrong.