bloodletting
Americannoun
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the act or practice of letting blood by opening a vein; phlebotomy.
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bloodshed or slaughter.
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Informal. severe cutbacks or reduction in personnel, appropriations, etc..
The company went through a period of bloodletting in the 1970s.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bloodletting
First recorded in 1175–1225, bloodletting is from Middle English blod letunge. See blood, let 1, -ing 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.
For weeks, it looked like nothing would stop Wall Street’s bloodletting of software companies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
A 2020 Royal Commission found Gobbo's double life during a period of intense gang bloodletting in Australia's second-biggest city were "fundamental and appalling breaches" of her obligations as counsel to her clients.
From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026
Apple even pushed through a rare round of cuts — though the bloodletting slowed by the end of the year.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026
Residents who were exposed to "forever chemicals" in Jersey should be offered treatments such as bloodletting to reduce levels of contamination in their bodies, doctors and scientists have advised the island's government.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2025
She endured harsh nineteenth-century medical treatments like bloodletting and blistering.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
