blame

1 of 2

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

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 2

noun

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

ˈblām-ləs 

adjective

blamelessly adverb

blamelessness noun

Phrases

to blame

: at fault : responsible

says he's not to blame for the accident

Synonyms

Verb

• censure
• condemn
• criticize
• denounce
• dis [slang]
• diss
• dispraise
• fault
• knock
• pan
• reprehend
• slag [chiefly British]

Noun

• culpability
• fault
• guilt
• onus
• rap

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

Ayesha Raza, the Focal Person to the Pakistani Prime Minister on Polio Eradication, blamed the recent uptick in cases on low vaccine uptake. —Sophia Saifi, CNN, 21 Oct. 2024

Vance has said a lot about his hometown, and he’s blamed its struggles on Democratic policies. —Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 21 Oct. 2024

Noun

News of the killings became an object of national outrage, though in the months to come congressional and Army reports placed the blame for what happened squarely on Grattan. —Tim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024

This little adjustment in perspective motivates the group to investigate underlying issues instead of assigning blame. —Nirmal Chhabria, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

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

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

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