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.

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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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Etymology

Origin of scapegoat

First recorded in 1520–30; scape ² + goat

Example Sentences

"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

The temptation to find corporate scapegoats for social ills is great.

From The Wall Street Journal

Many Angolan journalists and activists strongly contest the idea that the protests weren't organic, and say Angolan authorities might be using the Russians as scapegoats.

From BBC

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

From Salon

Sancho hit back on social media almost immediately, saying he had been made a "scapegoat".

From BBC

Related Words

• fall guy