blood money
Americannoun
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a fee paid to a hired murderer.
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compensation paid to the next of kin of a slain person.
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money obtained ruthlessly and at a cost of suffering to others.
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money paid to an informer in order to cause somebody to be arrested, convicted, or especially executed.
noun
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compensation paid to the relatives of a murdered person
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money paid to a hired murderer
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a reward for information about a criminal, esp a murderer
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.
But as Yemen follows Sharia law, the court gave her one last option of escaping death - she can secure a pardon from the victim's family by paying diyah or "blood money".
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2023
More progressive voices like powerful film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert joined the public chorus of outrage, denouncing "Silent Night, Deadly Night" as "blood money" because of how it would supposedly upset audiences.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2023
Critics say the players are essentially taking blood money.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
Those seeking to bring blood money into Britain, however, need not have looked too far.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2022
I didn't want any of it—it was all blood money; Baba would have never thrown me a party like that if I hadn’t won the tournament.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
