blame

verb \ ˈblām \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of blame

blamed; blaming

transitive verb

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

—

blamer

noun

— to blame

: at fault : responsible

says he's not to blame for the accident

See blame defined for English-language learners

See blame defined for kids

Is it blame on or blame for?

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.

Examples of blame in a Sentence

Don't blame me. You are responsible for your own problems.
My father always blames everything on me.
I blame the poor harvest on the weather.

Recent Examples of blame from the Web

The tweet marked the beginning of a daylong anti-Islamic social media attack that blamed all Muslims for ISIS terrorism.

— chelsea bailey, NBC News, "Laura Loomer Banned from Uber & Lyft After Anti-Muslim Tweetstorm," 2 Nov. 2017
Many have blamed Charlotte’s ongoing development boom for the loss of several of the city’s cultural hotspots.

— katherine peralta, charlotteobserver, "Two years ago, a beloved NoDa music venue closed. Now its owner has a new project," 31 Oct. 2017
But don't blame Alabama for being gun-shy about using Fitzpatrick in that capacity after what happened to Eddie Jackson last season.

— rainer sabin, AL.com, "Four Takeaways from Alabama's win over Tennessee: Tide OC Brian Daboll impresses," 22 Oct. 2017
Despite Matt’s attorneys’ legal analysis of the allegations, Matt has insisted that nothing be said that blames or casts aspersions upon his accusers.

— andy cush, Billboard, "Former Real Estate Guitarist Matt Mondanile Responds to Allegations of Sexual Misconduct," 20 Oct. 2017
Trump blamed Corker for the Iran deal (though the senator did not support its original passage), and mocked his slight stature.

— linda feldmann, The Christian Science Monitor, "Trump's move on Iran deal? At its core, a compromise with his cabinet.," 14 Oct. 2017
In areas around the North Sea and Mediterranean coast, however, later winter storms, indicated by cooler colors, are to blame for flooding.

— lacy schley, Discover Magazine, "Europe's Rivers Overfloweth," 10 Nov. 2017
American intelligence chiefs blamed those hacking attacks on Russian military intelligence.

— The Economist, "Manafort overboardDonald Trump’s former campaign chief is indicted," 4 Nov. 2017
But CW Hemp blamed its customer testimonials for going too far.

— maggie fox, NBC News, "Pot Doesn’t Cure Cancer and Stop Saying it Does, FDA Says," 1 Nov. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blame.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of blame

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

blame

noun

Definition of blame

1 : an expression of disapproval or reproach : censure

… saying nothing … either in the way of blame or praise.
—R. L. Stevenson

2 a : a state of being blameworthy : culpability

… acknowledge the world as a world of common blame,
—Muriel Rukeyser

b archaic : fault, sin

3 : responsibility for something believed to deserve censure

they must share the blame

—

blameless

play \-ləs\ adjective

—

blamelessly

adverb

—

blamelessness

noun

See blame defined for English-language learners

Examples of blame in a Sentence

It's not entirely his fault, but he's not completely free of blame, either.
willingly accepted the blame for not seeing that the kitchen was properly cleaned

Recent Examples of blame from the Web

May said the presence of helicopters and the use of barrel bombs pointed the finger of blame squarely at the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

— NBC News, "UK's Theresa May tells lawmakers: Syria strikes were legal and moral," 16 Apr. 2018
And Comey writes that President Barack Obama absolved him of blame for Hillary Clinton’s defeat after the FBI reopened an investigation into her emails two weeks before the election.

— ian shapira, Washington Post, "Before James Comey’s stunning memoir, there was George Tenet’s remarkable tell-all," 15 Apr. 2018
Boston’s elites placed an outsize blame for their political woes on the urban landscape.

— justin t. clark, BostonGlobe.com, "Building Boston to shape morality," 14 Apr. 2018
And Michigan deserves plenty of blame, coming out and clanking so many shots.

— jeff seidel, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan's Moritz Wagner wouldn't be denied in Final Four win over Loyola," 31 Mar. 2018
Their outlook was largely consistent with what the oil companies had to say, except their projections were more certain and their accounting of blame ran deeper.

— kurtis alexander, San Francisco Chronicle, "People cause climate change, but don’t blame big oil, industry tells judge," 21 Mar. 2018
Jenny's Mom in Canada Dear Mom: There is plenty of blame to go around.

— abby, Houston Chronicle, "Parents blame teen's friends for underage drinking episode," 10 Mar. 2018
Some of this equivocation and deflection of blame can be ascribed to distrust of Morocco’s justice system.

— ahmed charai, WSJ, "Morocco’s Unfortunate #MeToo Moment," 9 Mar. 2018
Rage is our nation’s political fuel, and the Left bears more than it’s share of blame.

— david french, National Review, "Does the Left Lose because It’s Too Civil?," 23 Jan. 2018

Origin and Etymology of blame

see ¹blame

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

BLAME Defined for English Language Learners

blame

verb

Definition of blame for English Language Learners

: to say or think that a person or thing is responsible for something bad that has happened

blame

noun

Definition of blame for English Language Learners

: responsibility for something that fails or is wrong

BLAME Defined for Kids

blame

verb \ ˈblām \

Definition of blame for Students

blamed; blaming

1 : to find fault with Who could blame her for wanting to leave?

2 : to hold responsible

He blamed me for everything.

3 : to place responsibility for

Don't blame the mistake on us.

blame

noun

Definition of blame for Students

1 : responsibility for something that fails or is wrong

They took blame for the defeat.

2 criticism 1

I heard both praise and blame.

—

blameless

\ˈblām-ləs\ adjective

Learn More about blame

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blame

Definition of blame

blamer

Is it blame on or blame for?

Examples of blame in a Sentence

Recent Examples of blame from the Web

Origin and Etymology of blame

blame

Definition of blame

blameless

blamelessly

blamelessness

Examples of blame in a Sentence

Recent Examples of blame from the Web

Origin and Etymology of blame

Phrases Related to BLAME

Related Phrases

BLAME Defined for English Language Learners

blame

Definition of blame for English Language Learners

blame

Definition of blame for English Language Learners

BLAME Defined for Kids

blame

Definition of blame for Students

blame

Definition of blame for Students

blameless

Learn More about blame

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