bloodletting
[ bluhd-let-ing ]
/ ˈblʌdˌlɛt ɪŋ /
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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
OTHER WORDS FROM bloodletting
bloodletter, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bloodletting in a sentence
Despite every holding company reporting some staff reductions and predictions of a major bloodletting in the spring, nearly a third of respondents to a survey of 52 agency professionals said their agencies had increased their headcounts this year.
Digiday Research: Nearly one third of agencies grew their headcounts in 2020|Max Willens|December 23, 2020|Digiday
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
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