Basic+ Word of the Day: blame

blame (verb, noun) past tense: blamed

"You blame me?"

Blame means ‘to hold someone responsible’ or ‘to find fault with.’

• "Don't blame me for the actions of others."
• Ted blames his mother for all his problems.
• Alex blamed his typing errors on his lack of sleep.

Blame is also the act of finding fault.

• Morgan accepted the blame for the software malfunction.
• Blame goes to the person who hurt you--not you.

Common uses

blame game: a situation where people blame others instead of resolving the problem. Example: “Instead of playing the blame game, let’s fix the problem.”

In pop culture

Time to stand up and dance to Michael Jackson and sing, “Blame It on the Boogie.”

There are other meanings of blame.