blame

play

verb \ ˈblām \

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 Reds said the shoulder was to blame for the slump.

— zach buchanan, Cincinnati.com, "A healthy Scott Schebler is a hittin’ Scott Schebler," 29 Aug. 2017
Both the city and the ownership are to blame for where the Chargers are right now.

— jay posner, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Fouts: Chargers playing at StubHub 'embarrassing'," 28 Aug. 2017
The ruling is another one backing Apple in lawsuits alleging the Cupertino gadget maker was to blame for deaths and injuries connected to distracted driving.

— david kravets, Ars Technica, "Suit blaming iPhone for student’s death by texting driver is defeated by Apple," 28 Aug. 2017
We always get blamed for damaged contents, but maybe put a perfume bottle in a box before wrapping a shirt around it.

— cynthia drescher, CNT, "Does Having a 'Fragile' Sticker on Your Bag Actually Help?," 24 Aug. 2017
In May of this year, a Virginia woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on Johnson & Johnson’s talcum products won $110 million in a suit against the company.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Woman Wins $417 Million in Lawsuit Tying Baby Powder to Ovarian Cancer," 24 Aug. 2017
MEANWHILE, IN THE TWITTERVERSE ... Mr President - leadership is leading, not blaming.

— dan sweeney, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Campaigning on the public's dime," 24 Aug. 2017
Could the chaotic news cycle be blamed on eclipse season?

— jessica lanyadoo, Glamour, "What the Eclipse Means for Your Zodiac Sign," 20 Aug. 2017
Some survivors said that he was unfairly blamed for the disaster, and banded together to launch an effort to clear his name.

— alex wigglesworth, latimes.com, "Researchers find wreckage of WWII Navy destroyer Indianapolis, 72 years after it sank," 19 Aug. 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 Synonyms

Synonyms

criticize, censure, condemn, denounce, dis (also diss) [slang], dispraise, fault, knock, pan, reprehend, slag [chiefly British]

Antonyms

extol (also extoll), laud, praise

Related Words

skewer, tweak; assail, attack, blast, clobber, slam, slash; nick (at), snipe (at); beef, bellyache, bitch, carp, cavil, complain, crab, croak, fuss, gripe, grouse, growl, grumble, kick, kvetch, moan, murmur, mutter, niggle, quibble, whine; admonish, chide, drub, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove; berate, castigate, crucify, excoriate, flay, gibbet, hammer, keelhaul, lambaste (or lambast), lash, pillory, scold, upbraid; bad-mouth, belittle, decry, deride, discommend, disparage, put down

Near Antonyms

approve, commend, endorse (also indorse), recommend, sanction

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

A number of observers have also put the blame on airline managers for outsourcing IT operations to less-expensive locations to slash costs.

— barbara peterson, CNT, "British Airways Computer Crash: Why This Keeps Happening," 30 May 2017
In this sense, Microsoft is right–but the blame shouldn’t end there.

— sam biddle, The Intercept, "The Real Roots of the Worldwide Ransomware Outbreak: Militarism and Greed," 16 May 2017
As the worm, known as WannaCry, has been contained, more free time has opened up in which to argue and assign blame beyond the anonymous hackers who used leaked NSA code to assemble the virus, and whatever party decided to turn it into ransomware.

— sam biddle, The Intercept, "The Real Roots of the Worldwide Ransomware Outbreak: Militarism and Greed," 16 May 2017
To the extent that Turf Paradise has suffered a downturn, Jerry and General Manager Vince Francia said blame goes to an industry-wide slump that has closed many tracks.

— dennis wagner, azcentral, "Turf war: Feud between two brothers over Phoenix horse track boils over," 14 May 2017
The city’s hyper-segregation deserves much of the blame, said Brian Sonderman, executive director of Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity.

— jsonline.com, "What happened to us? | A Journal Sentinel Special Report Homeownership has not delivered on dreams for African-Americans," 27 Apr. 2017
They are forced to victim-blame each other, to slut-shame each other, to publicly denounce each other.

— emma dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Handmaid's Tale," 26 Apr. 2017
While a lot of lawmakers are launching probes and talking about holding airlines accountable in the moment, some of that blame falls to the regulations that already exist.

— ryan craggs, Condé Nast Traveler, "United's 'Reaccommodating' Crisis Likely Won't Change Much of Anything," 12 Apr. 2017

Origin and Etymology of blame

see ¹blame

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

blame Synonyms

Synonyms

culpability, fault, guilt, onus, rap

Antonyms

blamelessness, faultlessness, guiltlessness, innocence

Related Words

blameworthiness, complicity, guiltiness, sinfulness; accusation, censure, condemnation, denunciation, finger-pointing, reproach; regret, remorse, self-reproach, shame

BLAME Defined for English Language Learners

blame

play

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

play

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

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Is it blame on or blame for?

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blame

Definition of blame

blameless

blamelessly

blamelessness

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Origin and Etymology of blame

blame Synonyms

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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

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blame

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blameless

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