finger-pointing
Americannoun
Explanation
Blaming someone for a problem is finger-pointing. If none of your friends will take responsibility for breaking the neighbor's window with their baseball, there may be a lot of finger-pointing. Finger-pointing can simply mean assigning blame to the guilty party, but it can also be a way of avoiding responsibility. If there's a large group of people at your house and someone accidentally lets the cat out, making your sister angry, there will very likely be some finger-pointing: "Tom kept leaving the door open!" You don't have to literally point at a person to be engaged in figurative finger-pointing, but it might be tempting when you say, "She did it!"
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The company accused Lineage of finger-pointing instead of focusing on community relief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Frustration over the stalled case set off finger-pointing by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel, who had early on promised to lead the charge but has since gone largely silent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The scale of the crisis has sparked a massive game of corporate finger-pointing.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
What’s happening now is a mix of penny-pinching and finger-pointing.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 24, 2026
Amidst the recriminations and finger-pointing from the doctors, scientists, and prison officials, one might have expected the demise of electrocution technology.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
