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Synonyms

take the fall

Idioms  

  1. Incur blame or censure for another's misdeeds, as in She's taken the fall for you in terms of any political damage, or A senior official took the fall for the failed intelligence operation. This expression originated in the 1920s as underworld slang. It began to be extended to less criminal kinds of blame in the second half of the 1900s. Also see take a fall, def. 2.

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.

Students are the foot soldiers who take the fall when administrators need a show of resolve, but the academic departments train and deploy them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Matthew Mott was dispensable enough to take the fall for the previous failures but Brendon McCullum, given the keys to all England sides to mould as he pleases until 2027, is not.

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2025

The Lakers are on the precipice of a second consecutive playoff disaster, and it’s becoming clear who could take the fall.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2024

By playing T.J.'s heartstrings he gave her one of the best advantages in the game, allowing allies to take the fall for her until she had none left.

From Salon • Dec. 8, 2023

I wondered if he’d ratted out his friends or if he was the kind of guy who’d take the fall rather than snitching.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

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.