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blame
[ bleym ]
verb (used with object)
- to hold responsible; find fault with; censure:
I don't blame you for leaving him.
Synonyms: , , ,
- to place the responsibility for (a fault, error, etc.) (usually followed by on ):
I blame the accident on her.
Synonyms: , , ,
- Informal. blast; damn (used as a mild curse):
Blame the rotten luck.
noun
- an act of attributing fault; censure; reproof:
The judge said he found nothing to justify blame in the accident.
Synonyms: , , , ,
- responsibility for anything deserving of censure:
We must all share the blame for this deplorable condition.
Synonyms: , , ,
blame
/ ɪ /
noun
- responsibility for something that is wrong or deserving censure; culpability
- an expression of condemnation; reproof
- be to blameto be at fault or culpable
verb
- usually foll by for to attribute responsibility to; accuse
I blame him for the failure
- usually foll by on to ascribe responsibility for (something) to
I blame the failure on him
- to find fault with
Usage Note
Derived Forms
- ˈ, adjective
- ˈ, adverb
Other Word Forms
- İ noun
- v· verb (used with object) overblamed overblaming
- - noun
- ܲ·iԲ adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of blame1
Idioms and Phrases
- to blame, at fault; censurable:
I am to blame for his lateness.
More idioms and phrases containing blame
see lay (the blame) on ; to blame .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
When asked whether Lucy could have been traumatised by the flight or by her transfer to care, the social worker said she believes it is unlikely that alone was to blame.
Wallace said he was recently diagnosed with autism, saying: "I want to make it absolutely clear I'm not blaming my behaviour on my diagnosis, but it does explain a hell of a lot to me."
He indulges in his compulsions to escape from his own discomfort, and consistently blames his actions on his current love interest.
He denied being part of the conspiracy to kill Allen and blamed Kelly as the person who pulled the trigger.
They responded by blaming his “white guilt” for “thousands more Austin Metcalfs.”
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More About Blame
does blame mean?
To blame someone for something is to hold them responsible for something negative that happened. In other words, to blame them is to say or believe that they did it or that it happened because of them.
A person can be blamed for a crime—meaning that they are being accused of having committed it. Blame can be used in much less serious contexts—you can blame someone for eating the last cookie, for example.
In general, we blame things on people and we blame people for things. For example, in the event of a car accident, we could say that one driver is blaming the other for the accident, or that one driver is blaming the accident on the other driver.
When someone is blamed for something, it doesn’t mean they are guilty of it—it simply means they are being accused of being guilty of it.
The word blame can also be used as a noun referring to the responsibility for something negative that happened. This is how the word is used in the phrase assign blame. As a noun, blame can also mean the disapproval, condemnation, or criticism for something bad that happened, as in He deserves most of the blame for the loss.
It’s usually people who are blamed when bad things happen, but sometimes it’s a thing, as in The power company blamed the outage on the storm.
The word blame is always used in the context of something bad that happened—you don’t blame someone for something good. (However, the word can be used in an ironic way, as in Everyone thinks I became famous all by myself, but I blame all of the people who supported me.)
To blame yourself is to believe that you were responsible for something bad that happened. The phrase to blame can mean responsible or at fault, as in It’s hard to tell who’s to blame in this situation.
Example: My brother blamed the dog for knocking over the lamp, but my parents knew who was to blame.
Where does blame come from?
The first records of the word blame come from the 1100s. It comes from the Late Latin ŧ, meaning “to blaspheme” (“to speak in a disrespectful way about God or other things considered sacred”).
Blame appears in many different words and expressions. Someone who deserves blame can be described as blameworthy (or, less commonly, blameful). Someone who is blameless is someone who hasn’t done anything wrong—they haven’t done anything to be blamed for.
The informal term blame game refers to a situation in which people try to blame each other for something bad happening, as in Let’s not play the blame game and try to make someone the scapegoat for all of this. The slang verb is modeled on the verb brainstorm and means to engage in a process of deciding whom to assign blame to.
Did you know … ?
are some other forms related to blame?
- blameworthy (adjective)
- blameless (adjective)
- blameful (adjective)
- blamable (adjective)
- blamer (noun)
are some synonyms for blame?
are some words that share a root or word element with blame?
are some words that often get used in discussing blame?
How is blame used in real life?
Due to its meaning, blame is almost always used in negative contexts. It can be used in serious situations, such as those involving a crime, or in less serious ones.
It gets to a point where you gotta stop blaming other people for your problems and get yourself together. It’s easy to blame everyone else; it’s hard when you gotta place the blame on yourself. Accountability is key!
— 🌻♒︎ (@JustShyra)
Arsenal players should look at themselves before blaming others, says David Seaman
— Indy Football (@IndyFootball)
Here's all you need to know about what kind of guy Dbacks 1B coach Dave McKay is: He interrupted the crowd of reporters around Alex Avila's locker to insist that he (McKay) deserved the blame for the baserunning error.
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB)
Try using blame!
Is blame used correctly in the following sentence?
“Extremely foggy weather was to blame for the car accident.”
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.
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