scapegoat

Pronunciation

• (US)
  • IPA ^(key): /ˈskeɪpˌɡoʊt/
• (UK)
  • IPA ^(key): /ˈskeɪpˌɡəʊt/
  • SAMPA: /"skeIp.g@Ut/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Singular scapegoat

Plural scapegoats

1. (countable), (biblical) A scapegoat is a goat that was released into the wilderness while another was killed in a ritual.
2. (countable) A scapegoat is someone who is punished for a mistake that someone else made.

   Bobby broke the window, but Cynthia was made into the scapegoat and had to pay Mr. Lee for it.

Related words

• substitute

Verb

Plain form scapegoat

Third-person singular scapegoats

Past tense scapegoated

Past participle scapegoated

Present participle scapegoating

1. (transitive) If you scapegoat someone, you punish them for someone else's mistake.

Usage note

A word derived from scapegoat, scapegoatee, means the same thing as the agent noun scapegoat, although the form with the suffix "-ee", i.e. scapegoatee, is exclusively used in the sense of the agent noun of being a victim of blame-shifting.