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.
What’s happening now is a mix of penny-pinching and finger-pointing.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 24, 2026
He saved the investigative journalism and political finger-pointing for other writers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026
Some recent high-profile bankruptcies have triggered a round of finger-pointing on Wall Street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
This week: The downfall of First Brands and Tricolor has led to finger-pointing between banks and private credit firms.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2025
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.
