as in victims
a person or thing taking the blame for others
an unhappy childhood was the goat he used to rationalize every failure and shortcoming
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Recent Examples of goats
By Jenna Jarrah / Correspondent The San Fernando Valley Audubon Society has deployed over 500 goats in the Sepulveda Basin, in partnership with Mayor Karen Bass’ office, to address wild,mostly invasive vegetation called firebrush that accelerates fires in the area.
—
Daily News, 7 Mar. 2026
Tour properties include dramatic subtropical and desert landscaping, a front yard devoted entirely to succulents, kinetic metal and mosaic art, resident goats and a stop with 17 fruit trees alongside proteas and exotic succulents.
—Martina Schimitschek, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
The recovered animals include ducks, chickens and goats.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
Stark started by riding horses and training goats.
—Alessandro Meregaglia, The Conversation, 3 Mar. 2026
The handwritten menu changes almost daily, and it’s loaded with traditional dishes like oysters, rillet, confit garlic and goats’ curd on toast, chicken liver parfait, and chargrilled lambs’ hearts.
—Cass Farrar, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Mar. 2026
This method confirmed that specimens found at Haughey’s Fort—a Late Bronze Age hillfort in County Armagh dating to 1100–900 BCE—were goats.
—Munis Raza, Interesting Engineering, 27 Feb. 2026
This rare indigenous breed is Ireland’s only native goat species and shares a genetic link to goats living across the country during the Late Bronze Age.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 26 Feb. 2026
Georgiadou said that 263 cattle have already been culled and another 13,000 sheep, goats and swine will be destroyed.
—ABC News, 25 Feb. 2026
Daily News, 7 Mar. 2026
Tour properties include dramatic subtropical and desert landscaping, a front yard devoted entirely to succulents, kinetic metal and mosaic art, resident goats and a stop with 17 fruit trees alongside proteas and exotic succulents.
—Martina Schimitschek, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
The recovered animals include ducks, chickens and goats.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
Stark started by riding horses and training goats.
—Alessandro Meregaglia, The Conversation, 3 Mar. 2026
The handwritten menu changes almost daily, and it’s loaded with traditional dishes like oysters, rillet, confit garlic and goats’ curd on toast, chicken liver parfait, and chargrilled lambs’ hearts.
—Cass Farrar, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Mar. 2026
This method confirmed that specimens found at Haughey’s Fort—a Late Bronze Age hillfort in County Armagh dating to 1100–900 BCE—were goats.
—Munis Raza, Interesting Engineering, 27 Feb. 2026
This rare indigenous breed is Ireland’s only native goat species and shares a genetic link to goats living across the country during the Late Bronze Age.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 26 Feb. 2026
Georgiadou said that 263 cattle have already been culled and another 13,000 sheep, goats and swine will be destroyed.
—ABC News, 25 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goats
Noun
-
In some cases, the department inadvertently released nude photos showing the faces of potential victims as well as names, email addresses and other identifying information that was either unredacted or not fully obscured.—
Alanna Durkin Richer,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Police identified two other victims and contacted their parents.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Nations without trust in domestic institutions often turn outward in search of scapegoats.—
Klaus Schwab,
Time,
5 Jan. 2026
-
This time, Nixon was one of several scapegoats for a dismal 22-16 Packers loss.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
21 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Chaps coach Vickie Benson offered no excuses for the loss.—
Rick Cantu,
Austin American Statesman,
8 Mar. 2026
-
With locations in both Brickell and Wynwood, this high-energy karaoke lounge is basically already in your backyard — no excuses.—
Lauren Schuster,
Miami Herald,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Broward County Commission has shot down a proposal that would have cleared the way for a property owner to put up warehouses on and near environmentally sensitive land, some of which has been home to a colony of African vervet monkeys since the late 1940s.—
Rafael Olmeda,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Mar. 2026
-
When researchers gave semaglutide to green vervet monkeys – primates that voluntarily drink alcohol much like humans do – the animals drank less without showing signs of nausea or changes in water intake.—
Ziyad Al-Aly,
Fortune,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Goats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goats. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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