whipping boys

Definition of whipping boysnext
plural of whipping boy
as in victims
a person or thing taking the blame for others used the government's economic policies as the whipping boy for every bad decision the company made

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for whipping boys
Noun
  • Some of the victims had been wearing backpacks equipped with airbags that can help keep people on the surface of an avalanche, but had not pulled the cords to deploy the bags, the report said.
    Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Peter Barnum, one of the people on shore who raced to the rescue, described the exhaustion of one of the victims, the father.
    Ted Scouten, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • There were even newborn goats for everyone to meet.
    Tracy Trobridge, Baltimore Sun, 5 Apr. 2026
  • The film is set in a mountain village where an elderly woman named Hettie (Hettie Farmer) lives alone on a small farm, tending her flock of goats with increasing difficulty.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Do not make excuses or lie about your health.
    Judith Martin, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Of nailing one’s excuses to their own crosses and leaving them there.
    Colin Fleming, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Black folks have been used as scapegoats for the rising government budgets, and anti-Black stereotypes fueled voters to significantly reduce access to affordable healthcare and educational assistance.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Americans are burned-out, frustrated, and hunting for scapegoats.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Whipping boys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whipping%20boys. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster