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
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
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 ● Dec. 18, 2025
Unfortunately — or fortunately, from Emil the goat and Lorne's point of view — he interrupts the bloodletting ceremony.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025
Of course ‘made to work’ is a slippery concept: plenty of alchemists thought they had seen base metal turn into gold, and plenty of doctors thought they had cured their patients through bloodletting.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
