I. blame 1 S2 W3 /bleɪm/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: blamer , from Late Latin blasphemare ; ⇨ ↑ blaspheme ]
1 . to say or think that someone or something is responsible for something bad:
Don’t blame me – it’s not my fault.
I blame his mother. She does everything for him.
blame somebody/something for something
Marie still blames herself for Patrick’s death.
The report blames poor safety standards for the accident.
The decision to increase interest rates was widely blamed (=blamed by many people) for the crisis.
blame something on somebody/something
One of the computers is broken and she’s blaming it on me.
The crash was blamed on pilot error.
2 . somebody/something is to blame (for something) used to say that someone or something is responsible for something bad:
Officials believe that more than one person may be to blame for the fire.
partly/largely/entirely etc to blame
Television is partly to blame.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say something is someone's fault , rather than saying they are to blame :
▪ He was to blame for the accident. ➔ The accident was his fault.
3 . I don’t blame you/you can hardly blame him etc spoken used to say that you think it was right or reasonable for someone to do what they did:
‘She’s left her husband.’ ‘I don’t blame her, after the way he treated her.’
You can hardly blame him for not waiting.
4 . don’t blame me spoken used when you are advising someone not to do something but you think that they will do it in spite of your advice:
Buy it then, but don’t blame me when it breaks down.
5 . somebody only has himself/herself to blame spoken used to say that someone’s problems are their own fault:
If he fails his exams, he’ll only have himself to blame.
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THESAURUS
▪ blame verb [transitive] to say or think that someone or something is responsible for something bad that has happened:
Democrats have blamed Republicans for the failure to reach an agreement.
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Police blamed bad weather for a series of accidents on the roads.
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For many years I blamed myself for her death.
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They blamed the failure of the business on the economic downturn.
▪ put/place/lay the blame on somebody/something to say who or what you think is responsible for something bad that has happened, often unfairly or wrongly:
Don’t try to put the blame on me!
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Subsequent investigations placed the blame squarely on city officials.
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Farmers have laid the blame for their problems entirely on EU policies.
▪ say it’s sb’s fault especially spoken to say that someone is responsible for something bad that has happened:
Are you saying it’s my fault that we lost the game?
▪ hold somebody responsible to say that someone is responsible for something bad that has happened, because it was their duty to prevent it from happening:
He was held personally responsible for the failure of the project.
▪ take the rap informal ( also carry the can British English informal ) to be blamed and punished for something that you did not do, or that someone else is also responsible for:
He expects his wife to take the rap for him.
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Alan’s colleagues decided to let him carry the can.
II. blame 2 BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
responsibility for a mistake or for something bad
blame for
Do you accept any blame for what happened?
I always get the blame (=am blamed) for his mistakes!
She stole the money but she’s trying to put the blame on (=blame) me.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ get the blame (=be blamed)
Sam knew that if something went wrong, he’d get the blame.
▪ take/accept/shoulder the blame (=say that something is your fault)
No one was prepared to take the blame for the disaster.
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Parents must shoulder the blame if their kids behave badly.
▪ put/pin the blame on somebody ( also lay/place the blame on somebody written ) (=blame someone, especially when it is not their fault)
Don’t try to put the blame on me.
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Everyone laid the blame for the crisis on the government.
▪ shift the blame (onto somebody) (=blame someone else for something you did)
She always tried to shift the blame onto her brother.
▪ apportion/assign blame formal (=find someone to blame for something)
He seemed to want to apportion blame for her death.
▪ share the blame
He admitted he shared the blame for their World Cup defeat.
▪ the blame lies with somebody (=used to say that someone is responsible for something bad)
In this case, the blame lay with the police.
■ phrases
▪ place the blame squarely/firmly on somebody (=blame someone in a very definite way)
A military investigation placed the blame squarely on city officials.
▪ point the finger of blame at somebody (=say that someone is responsible for something bad)
I couldn’t believe it when they started pointing the finger of blame at me.