blame

1 of 3

verb

ˈblām 

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

see also:

to blame

Is it blame on or blame for?: Usage Guide

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.

blame

2 of 3

noun

1

: an expression of disapproval or reproach : censure

… saying nothing … either in the way of blame or praise.

—Robert Louis 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

ˈblām-ləs 

adjective

blamelessly adverb

blamelessness noun

blameless

3 of 3

adjective

blame·​less ˈblām-ləs 

: free from blame or fault : irreproachable

has lived a blameless life and … has prospered

—Green Peyton

blamelessly adverb

blamelessness noun

plural -es

Synonyms of blame

Verb

• criticize
• fault
• condemn
• denounce

Noun

• guilt
• fault

Examples of blame in a Sentence

Verb

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.

Noun

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 on the Web

Verb

That set off a wave of youth protests blaming the collapse on high-level corruption, cronyism and rampant graft during renovation work at the station. — Jovana Gec, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026

That set off a wave of youth protests that blamed the collapse on high-level corruption, cronyism and rampant graft during renovation work at the station. — Jovana Gec, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026

Noun

He has been sacked 17 times in six games, but the blame really should be on the coach for having a poor game plan. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026

Unsurprisingly, the report lays a lot of blame on the US, which saw its emissions rise more than any other country in the past year. — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

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

Adjective

Middle English, from blame entry 2 + -less

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing blame

• apportion blame
• blame/shoot the messenger
• have no one to blame but oneself
• have (only) oneself to blame
• lay the blame for (something) at someone's door
• lay the blame/responsibility on
• not blame
• pin the blame on
• take the blame
• the finger of blame/suspicion
• to blame

Rhymes for blame

• aim
• brame
• came
• claim
• dame
• fame
• flame
• frame
• game
• haim
• lame
• maim

Kids Definition

blame

1 of 2 verb

ˈblām 

blamed; blaming

1

: to find fault with : censure

2

a

: to hold responsible

blame them for everything

b

: to place responsibility for

blames it on me

blamable

ˈblā-mə-bəl

adjective

blamably

-blē

adverb

blamer noun

blame

2 of 2 noun

1

: expression of disapproval

receive both blame and praise

2

: responsibility for something that fails : fault

take the blame for the defeat

Etymology

Verb

Middle English blamen "to find fault with," from early French blamer, blasmer (same meaning), from Latin blasphemare "to speak ill of," from Greek blasphemein "to blaspheme" — related to blaspheme