patsy

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpætsi/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈpætsi/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pat′sē)

Inflections of 'patsy' (n): npl: patsies

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pat•sy /ˈpætsi/USA pronunciation   n. [countable], pl. -sies. [Slang.]
  1. Slang Termsone who is easily fooled or lets himself be badly treated.
  2. Slang Termsa person who takes the blame for something;
    fall guy.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pat•sy  (pat′sē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -sies. [Slang.]
  1. Slang Termsa person who is easily swindled, deceived, coerced, persuaded, etc.;
    sucker.
  2. Slang Termsa person upon whom the blame for something falls;
    scapegoat;
    fall guy.
  3. Slang Termsa person who is the object of a joke, ridicule, or the like.
  • origin, originally uncertain 1900–05, American.

Pat•sy  (pat′sē),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a male given name, form of Patrick.
  2. a female given name, form of Patricia.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
patsy /ˈpætsɪ/ n ( pl -sies) slang chiefly US Canadian
  1. a person who is easily cheated, victimized, etc
  2. a scapegoat
Etymology: 20th Century: of unknown origin
'patsy' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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