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

It was not a bloodline trust, but I was told it was still being finalized.

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

The first in her bloodline to graduate high school, Straight earned an MFA at the University of Massachusetts and brought it home to UC Riverside, where she’s been teaching creative writing since 1988.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2025

Kōrero and her kinspeople are peacefully egalitarian, with no “regard for status or bloodline or rank.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025

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