a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place.

Chiefly Biblical . a goat let loose in the wilderness on Yom Kippur after the high priest symbolically laid the sins of the people on its head. Lev. 16

8,10,26.

to make a scapegoat of

Strike leaders tried to scapegoat foreign competitors.

noun

another’s action boob , chump , doormat , dupe , easy mark * , fall guy * , fool , goat * , gull * , mark * , patsy , pigeon * , pushover * , sacrifice , sap * , schmuck , sitting duck * , stooge , sucker , victim , weakling , goat , whipping boy , butt , fall guy