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bloodletting

[ bluhd-let-ing ]
/ ˈblʌdˌlɛt ɪŋ /
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See synonyms for: bloodletting / bloodlettings on Thesaurus.com

noun
the act or practice of letting blood by opening a vein; phlebotomy.
bloodshed or slaughter.
Informal. severe cutbacks or reduction in personnel, appropriations, etc.: The company went through a period of bloodletting in the 1970s.
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Origin of bloodletting

First recorded in 1175–1225, bloodletting is from Middle English blod letunge. See blood, let1, -ing1

OTHER WORDS FROM bloodletting

bloodletter, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bloodletting in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bloodletting

blood-letting
/ (ˈblʌdˌlɛtɪŋ) /

noun
the therapeutic removal of blood, as in relieving congestive heart failureSee also phlebotomy
bloodshed, esp in a blood feud
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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