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• dog-eat-dog
  dog-eat-dog

  adjective

  marked by destructive or ruthless competition; without self-restraint, ethics, etc..
• 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).

dog-eat-dog

American  

[dawg-eet-dawg, dog-eet-dog] / ˈdɔg itˈdɔg, ˈdɒg itˈdɒg /

adjective

1. marked by destructive or ruthless competition; without self-restraint, ethics, etc..

   It's a dog-eat-dog industry.

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noun

1. complete egotism; action based on utter cynicism.

   The only rule of the marketplace was dog-eat-dog.

dog-eat-dog Cultural  

1. Ruthlessly competitive: “You have to look out for your own interests; it's a dog-eat-dog world.”

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dog eat dog Idioms  

1. 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).

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Etymology

Origin of dog-eat-dog

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The music industry is dog-eat-dog — you’re just trying to stay relevant.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

It's worth noting that, even before the invention of streaming, the world of US chat shows was always a competitive, dog-eat-dog world.

From BBC • Jul. 18, 2025

“The Dark Forest,” the second volume, is named for a view of the universe as a dog-eat-dog struggle for survival in which the best way to survive is to hide.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2024

It's easy to see how lying would be viewed as acceptable if you hold what the researchers describe as "the dog-eat-dog worldview where everyone does whatever is needed to get ahead."

From Salon • Oct. 20, 2022

My high school friends would still have been whining over boyfriends and fighting for carhop jobs at the A&W. Their idea of a dog-eat-dog world was Beauty School.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver