bloodletting
[ bluhd-let-ing ]
/ ˈblʌdˌlɛt ɪŋ /
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, nounWords nearby bloodletting
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for bloodletting
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
Medical definitions for bloodletting
bloodletting
[ blŭd′lĕt′ĭng ]
n.
The therapeutic removal of blood, usually from a vein.
Other words from bloodletting
blood′let′ter n.The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.