noun
Etymology
Origin of bloodshed
Explanation
Use the word bloodshed to mean people being killed or wounded, especially during a war. A strong dislike of bloodshed might keep a person from joining the military. You can use the noun bloodshed to talk about any kind of violence: "My mom never let me play those video games when I was growing up, because of all the bloodshed." It's most commonly used to refer to the major side effect of war, the death and injury of many humans. Bloodshed dates from the 1500s, meaning "the shedding of one's blood" or "slaughter."
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.
It might have stopped bloodshed on a different continent.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
But it is important to remember that after years of bloodshed and killing, they all ended in ways that amounted to defeat for the United States.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
More than a month on, the full extent of the bloodshed is difficult to determine, even as the prospect of U.S. strikes grows.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026
I’ve known many police officers in my long career covering crime who could have de-escalated that event without bloodshed.
From Salon • Jan. 9, 2026
Although they never permitted matters to come to bloodshed, they still fostered these quarrels between them so that those citizens would not unite against them, being busy with their own disputes.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
