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
Muslims mark the event by slaughtering sheep or goats.
—
Reuters, CNN, 27 Feb. 2025
While some people may be tempted to keep goats indoors, experts advise against it.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025
Who has time for knocking boots when there’s a mysterious room full of goats to investigate?
—Samantha Allen, Them, 25 Feb. 2025
They were inhabited by a handful of people and a few goats; one village had a single resident.
—Akash Kapur, Travel + Leisure, 24 Feb. 2025
Bush’s team arrived to find others had shown up to help and had left behind sheep and goats.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 23 Jan. 2025
Kudos on firing the assistant coaches as scape goats for the humiliating mistake of letting Xavier Mckinney walk away into an All-Pro season and forcing them to scheme around an unreliable Banks.
—Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
Bush’s business involves letting goats and sheep graze to reduce the amount of grass and other highly flammable vegetation, which can decrease the likelihood of a wildfire.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 23 Jan. 2025
In this case, the hyena’s predation on goats led to its tracking and eventual death.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 22 Jan. 2025
Reuters, CNN, 27 Feb. 2025
While some people may be tempted to keep goats indoors, experts advise against it.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025
Who has time for knocking boots when there’s a mysterious room full of goats to investigate?
—Samantha Allen, Them, 25 Feb. 2025
They were inhabited by a handful of people and a few goats; one village had a single resident.
—Akash Kapur, Travel + Leisure, 24 Feb. 2025
Bush’s team arrived to find others had shown up to help and had left behind sheep and goats.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 23 Jan. 2025
Kudos on firing the assistant coaches as scape goats for the humiliating mistake of letting Xavier Mckinney walk away into an All-Pro season and forcing them to scheme around an unreliable Banks.
—Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
Bush’s business involves letting goats and sheep graze to reduce the amount of grass and other highly flammable vegetation, which can decrease the likelihood of a wildfire.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 23 Jan. 2025
In this case, the hyena’s predation on goats led to its tracking and eventual death.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 22 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Goats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goats. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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