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Synonyms

scapegoat

American  
[skeyp-goht] / ˈskeɪpˌgoʊt /

noun

  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.

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to make a scapegoat of

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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.

Etymology

Origin of scapegoat

First recorded in 1520–30; scape 2 + goat

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.

When policies fail and public support craters, authoritarian regimes inevitably seek a scapegoat.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

The firestorm stoked by Rep. Khanna hasn’t only made a scapegoat of anybody who was personally associated with Epstein, however innocently.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

Defence lawyer Jason Goss said prosecutors were trying to scapegoat Gonzales, 52, and make him "pay for the pain of that day".

From BBC • Jan. 21, 2026

A TikTok spokesman told AFP in September that the company "categorically rejects the deceptive presentation" by French MPs, saying it was being made a "scapegoat" for broader societal issues.

From Barron's • Nov. 4, 2025

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

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.