dog-eat-dog
[ dawg-eet-dawg, dog-eet-dog ]
/ ˈdɔg itˈdɔg, ˈdɒg itˈdɒg /
adjective
marked by destructive or ruthless competition; without self-restraint, ethics, etc.: It's a dog-eat-dog industry.
noun
complete egotism; action based on utter cynicism: The only rule of the marketplace was dog-eat-dog.
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Nearby words
dog-cheap, dog-day cicada, dog-doo, dog-ear, dog-eared, dog-eat-dog, dog-end, dog-leg stair, dog-legged, dog-paddle, dog-poor
Origin of dog-eat-dog
First recorded in 1930–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Culture definitions for dog eat dog
dog-eat-dog
Ruthlessly competitive: “You have to look out for your own interests; it's a dog-eat-dog world.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with dog eat dog
dog eat dog
Ruthless acquisition or competition, as in With shrinking markets, it's dog eat dog for every company in this field. This contradicts a Latin proverb which maintains that dog does not eat dog, first recorded in English in 1543. Nevertheless, by 1732 it was put as “Dogs are hard drove when they eat dogs” (Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia).
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.