bloodline

American  

[bluhd-lahyn] / ˈblʌdˌlaɪn /

noun

1. (usually of animals) the line of descent; pedigree; strain.

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bloodline British  

/ ˈblʌdˌlaɪn /

noun

1. all the members of a family group over generations, esp regarding characteristics common to that group; pedigree

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Etymology

Origin of bloodline

First recorded in 1905–10; blood + line ¹

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

"Nobody discusses infertility, nobody discusses egg donation because it isn't the bloodline."

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

The union would potentially create a new caliphal bloodline relocated in India.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

That trust showed a $500,000 transfer from my father, explicitly described as a gift, made at the same time my father was supposedly creating his bloodline trust.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 2, 2026

The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their so-called "Paektu bloodline" dominates daily life in the isolated country.

From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026

Papá was fair-haired and light-complected, implying a Spanish bloodline rather than native Mexican, but Mamá did have olive skin, black hair, and dark eyes.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Related Words

• genealogy
• lineage
• parentage
• pedigree