Definitions for scapegoatˈskeɪpˌgoʊt

This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word scapegoat

Princeton's WordNet

  1. scapegoat, whipping boy(noun)

    someone who is punished for the errors of others


  1. scapegoat(Noun)

    In the Mosaic Day of Atonement ritual, a goat symbolically imbued with the sins of the people, and sent out alive into the wilderness while another was sacrificed.

  2. scapegoat(Noun)

    Someone punished for the error or errors of someone else.

    He is making me a scapegoat.

  3. scapegoat(Verb)

    To punish someone for the error or errors of someone else; to make a scapegoat of.

  4. scapegoat(Verb)

    To blame something for the problems of a given society without evidence to back up the claim.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Scapegoat(noun)

    a goat upon whose head were symbolically placed the sins of the people, after which he was suffered to escape into the wilderness

  2. Scapegoat(noun)

    hence, a person or thing that is made to bear blame for others

  3. Origin: [Scape (for escape) + goat.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Scapegoat

    skāp′gōt, n. a goat on which, once a year, the Jewish high-priest laid symbolically the sins of the people, and which was then allowed to escape into the wilderness (Levit. xvi.): one who is made to bear the misdeeds of another. [Escape and goat.]


  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of scapegoat in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of scapegoat in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

  1. Kirk Douglas:


  2. Cedric Richmond:

    I am not going to let them use Steve as a scapegoat to score political points when I know him and know his family.

  3. Matthew Kaiser:

    Clearly there are problems at NOAA and NWS, but Mr. Jiron should not be the scapegoat for NOAA's broader problems.

  4. Charles de LEUSSE:

    Find a scapegoat is wanting to destroy the ruins. (Trouver un bouc émissaire, - C'est vouloir les ruines détruire.)

  5. Peter Henning:

    They are trying to ferret out information from the midlevel employees who may know what happened but are fearful of being made a scapegoat.

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Translations for scapegoat

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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