take the fall

VERB

sentence

Synonyms

STRONGEST

blame condemn confine convict imprison incarcerate jail penalize punish

STRONG

adjudge adjudicate damn denounce devote doom impound judge ordain proscribe railroad rule settle

WEAK

mete out pass judgment put away put on ice send to prison send up the river throw the book at

Antonyms

STRONGEST

exonerate free let go liberate pardon praise release reward

STRONG

commend

WEAK

accuse blame charge

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Students are the foot soldiers who take the fall when administrators need a show of resolve, but the academic departments train and deploy them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

And someone close to him will take the fall.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2025

Matthew Mott was dispensable enough to take the fall for the previous failures but Brendon McCullum, given the keys to all England sides to mould as he pleases until 2027, is not.

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2025

No human needed to, it appears, if a robot could hypothetically take the fall.

From Salon • Jul. 24, 2023

I wondered if he’d ratted out his friends or if he was the kind of guy who’d take the fall rather than snitching.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

take the fall

Example Sentences

Related Words