finger-pointing

American  

[fing-ger-poin-ting] / ˈfɪŋ gərˌpɔɪn tɪŋ /

noun

1. the imputation of blame or responsibility.

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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

What’s happening now is a mix of penny-pinching and finger-pointing.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 24, 2026

Agitation, on the other hand—the sort of I-told-ya-so infighting, finger-pointing, and disenchantment which followed Sunday’s rude playoff dismissal by San Francisco?

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026

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

I get bored laughing at all the finger-pointing.

From Salon • Sep. 12, 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