bloodletting
Americannoun
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the act or practice of letting blood by opening a vein; phlebotomy.
-
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
- bloodletter noun
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.
Ashes defeats in Australia usually mean sweeping changes to an England regime and the bloodletting will soon begin.
From BBC
At some point over the weekend, Cummins looks likely to once again become an Ashes-winning captain and the bloodletting of this England regime will begin.
From BBC
Discovery come two days after the Walt Disney Co. implemented a bloodletting across its film and television marketing teams, television publicity, casting and development as well as corporate operations.
From Los Angeles Times
But the most worrisome development in all this bloodletting is how Kennedy’s antipathy toward vaccines is playing out.
From Los Angeles Times
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
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.
