scapegoat

American  

[skayp-goht] / ˈskeɪpˌgoʊt /

noun

• scapegoats
  plural

1. a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place.

2. Chiefly Biblical. a goat let loose in the wilderness on Yom Kippur after the high priest symbolically laid the sins of the people on its head. Leviticus 16:8,10,26.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make a scapegoat of.

   Strike leaders tried to scapegoat foreign competitors.

scapegoat British  

/ ˈskeɪpˌɡəʊt /

noun

1. a person made to bear the blame for others

2. Old Testament a goat used in the ritual of Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16); it was symbolically laden with the sins of the Israelites and sent into the wilderness to be destroyed

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verb

1. (tr) to make a scapegoat of

scapegoat Cultural  

1. A person or group that is made to bear blame for others. According to the Old Testament, on the Day of Atonement, a priest would confess all the sins of the Israelites over the head of a goat and then drive it into the wilderness, symbolically bearing their sins away.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• scapegoats
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of scapegoat

First recorded in 1520–30; scape ² + goat

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Explanation

The Bible depicts a ritual in which a goat is sent out into the desert bearing the faults of the people of Israel. The word scapegoat first occurred in the earliest English translation of the Bible, and it has come to mean any individual punished for the misdeeds of others. When a politician gets caught lying, he or she might use an assistant as a scapegoat. Somehow the lie will wind up being the assistant's fault. Your mom might tell you to use her as a scapegoat if you need to. So if your friends want you to go to a wild party and you don't want to, you should tell them your mom won't let you. That way, they will be mad at her and not at you. A fall guy is similar to a scapegoat, but it is mostly used if your scheme has been found out and one of your group of schemers must take the consequences.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scapegoat scapegoats

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told AFP last week that his country should not be a "scapegoat" for events in DR Congo.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

When a critic called him “a scapegoat for everybody’s guilts and repressions,” he proclaimed: “That’s me all over!”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

"It has been harrowing and deeply sad for it to go from a normal family relationship to being treated like a scapegoat, five against one," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

“I’m the scapegoat for everyone,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

He had the feeling that Brother Leon was that kind of character, that he would need a scapegoat and Brian would be closest at hand.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

"Finding scapegoats won't make people warmer," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

The most commonly cited scapegoats are the social insurance programs Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Whatever the case, more scapegoats are almost certainly on the way.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026

"I understand that populism is spreading all over the world and that people are trying to look for scapegoats, they're angry," he said.

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026

Among the many scapegoats chosen were elderly women living alone, who were charged with witchcraft: Kepler’s mother was carried away in the middle of the night in a laundry chest.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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