Idiom idiom
guilt trip
Meaning
A feeling of shame or embarrassment, especially if self-indulgent, unwarranted, exaggerated or felt over a significant period of time.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Do not try to guilt trip me into doing your chores.”
“My mother tried to guilt trip me for not visiting her enough, even though I call every week.”
“He often used a subtle guilt trip to manipulate his colleagues, making them feel responsible for his own lack of progress on the project.”
Origin
first recorded 20th c.
first recorded 20th c.
From *guilt* + *trip*, first appearing in 1972. The term was recorded in the novel *Any Minute I Can Split* by Judith Rossner.
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026