take the fall

The phrase "take the fall" is often used in informal contexts to describe accepting blame or punishment, sometimes to protect others.

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Definition

B2General

(informal)To accept blame or punishment for something, often to shield others.

Example

He decided to take the fall for the mistake to save his team from getting in trouble.
She took the fall for her brother, even though she wasn't the one who broke the vase.

C1Sports

(informal, sports)To deliberately lose a match, usually in a fixed competition.

Example

Rumors spread that the boxer agreed to take the fall in the third round.

Similar

Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "take the fall":

take a dive take a tumble fall to fall for fall on one's sword fall down fall in fall back fall together fall guy fall on take one's lumps fall due fall through fall foul fall out fall down on fall from grace fall over fall into fall to the ground fall up fall off take the plunge take the bait fall into a trap fall to pieces fall in line fall away drop the ball step down take a bow fall into oneself take responsibility go down fall behind drop behind fall flat on one's face throw under the bus take on the chin take the point take a knee take a back seat pay the piper get taken in fall off one's perch