a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur [n -S] / to make a scapegoat of [v SCAPEGOATED, SCAPEGOATING, SCAPEGOATS]
a male goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur.
one who is made to bear the blame for others
The CFO was made the scapegoat for the companys failures.
