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

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

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

Lesson: The volatility that comes with technological change sometimes requires a scapegoat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

The Egyptian did not disguise his belief he had been made a scapegoat, provoking divisive debate when Slot and Liverpool needed unity and calm – but was his claim justified?

From BBC • Dec. 11, 2025

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

There was always one unfortunate whom the teacher singled out and used for a scapegoat.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Related Words

• fall guy