whipping boy

noun

1

: a boy formerly educated with a prince and punished in his stead

2

: scapegoat sense 2

Synonyms of whipping boy

• victim
• fall guy
• goat
• excuse
• scapegoat

Examples of whipping boy in a Sentence

used the government's economic policies as the whipping boy for every bad decision the company made

Recent Examples on the Web

Apparently, this happens all the time because Daisy is Martha’s makeup artist as well as traveling companion, sounding board, and whipping boy. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2026

The former Maple Leaf was a whipping boy in Toronto whenever the Leafs couldn't get past the second round of the playoffs, but his first postseason in Vegas has been downright magical. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 May 2026

The middle class or big corporations don’t want to become the mayor’s whipping boy. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2026

There will always be whipping boys at the World Cup, a team who arrive underprepared or in chaos of some description. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for whipping boy

• corduroy
• fauntleroy
• iroquois
• ahoy
• alloy
• annoy
• carboy
• convoy
• cowboy
• decoy
• deploy
• destroy

Kids Definition

whipping boy

noun

whip·​ping boy

: scapegoat