Main Entry: ¹blame

Pronunciation: \ˈblām\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): blamed; blam·ing

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French blamer, blasmer, from Late Latin blasphemare to blaspheme, from Greek blasphēmein

Date: 13th century

1 : to find fault with : censure <the right to praise or blame a literary work>
2 a : to hold responsible <they blame me for everything> b : to place responsibility for <blames it on me>

— blam·er noun

— to blame : at fault : responsible <says he's not to blame for the accident>

usage Use of blame in sense 2b with on has occasionally been disparaged as wrong. Such disparagement is without basis; blame on occurs as frequently in carefully edited prose as blame for. Both are standard.