bloodline
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bloodline
Explanation
Your bloodline is your heritage or ancestry. In other words, your bloodline includes your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on. You might talk about the bloodline of a show dog, bragging about the pedigree of your funny-looking terrier. Sometime a horse's bloodline is also a selling point, particularly when someone is betting on a race horse. You have a bloodline too, although the word more often describes the heritage of a famous or royal family. The Old English root word blod, means "blood." By the 13th century, blood also meant "family" or "heritage."
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.
The “Game of Thrones” prequel boasts many dragons, most of them bound to the Targaryen royal bloodline.
From Salon • Jun. 24, 2026
The union would potentially create a new caliphal bloodline relocated in India.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
It was not a bloodline trust, but I was told it was still being finalized.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 2, 2026
A second deputy was found in Yaqoob Mujahid, Taliban founder Mullah Omar's son – young, but bringing with him his Taliban bloodline, and its potential to unify the movement.
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
She and her family were happy, the Warner children thriving, the product of a profound generational change in her bloodline.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
