bloodbath

American

[bluhd-bath, -bahth] / ˈblʌdˌbæθ, -ˌbɑθ /

Or blood bath

noun

plural

bloodbaths

a ruthless slaughter of a great number of people; massacre.
Informal. a period of disastrous loss or reversal.

A few mutual funds performed well in the general bloodbath of the stock market.
a widespread dismissal or purge, as of employees.

Etymology

Origin of bloodbath

First recorded in 1865–70; blood + bath ¹

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.

Betfred's Fred Done called the race result a "gladiatorial bloodbath for bookies" with the heavily-backed favourite winning.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

And so, if the Hyperscalers were to take their foot off the gas and say, “Hmm, capacity is good for the next year or so,” there would be a bloodbath in the supply chain.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

After another wild rivalry weekend, the Southeastern Conference reached the end of its bloodbath of a regular season without a single unbeaten team.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

“Sinners” transforms mid-film to become a vampire bloodbath, while the words “demon hunters” are right there in the other movie’s title.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2025

While one might expect such an edict to produce a bloodbath, very few gleanings ever took place.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023