cutthroat
Americannoun
adjective
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ruthless.
cutthroat competition.
-
pertaining to a game, as of cards, in which each of three or more persons acts and scores as an individual.
Etymology
Origin of cutthroat
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 fashion industry, with its cutthroat and trend-cycling nature, is as daunting as ever to enter.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
Ever since the launch of ChatGPT, top artificial-intelligence labs have been embroiled in a cutthroat competition to one-up each other with powerful new features.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026
They reflect a cutthroat competition occurring between weight-loss drugmakers in the US, as they look to capitalise on a potential sales bonanza in the country, where the obesity rate among adults is roughly 40%.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
Meanwhile, Li Auto, the first in the group to become profitable, recorded a slim profit amid slumping sales, underscoring how cutthroat China’s auto market has become as companies compete to introduce breakthrough technology.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
The mirror still hung there from his time, and beside it a long leather strop for sharpening the edge on his cutthroat razor.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
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.
