first blood
Britishnoun
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the first killing or wounding in a fight or war
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the first damage or reverse inflicted on an opponent in a conflict
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.
Earlier, the Dodgers drew first blood on Halloween night as Tommy Edman doubled, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked, and Smith's double to left field sent Edman home.
From BBC • Oct. 31, 2025
Yesavage, 22, was named on Thursday to start game one as the Blue Jays look to draw first blood against the defending Major League Baseball champions in the best-of-seven series.
From Barron's • Oct. 23, 2025
Not long after the Chilean film “The Settlers” opens — after the first shot has been fired and the first blood spilled — an aristocratic-looking horseman rides up to some workers on a grassy plain.
From New York Times • Jan. 11, 2024
Williams had drawn first blood with a right-footed shot from the center of the box five minutes earlier.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2023
So that was it: Masvita’s first blood had shown, and she was going to stay with her father’s sister to be instructed in the secrets of womanhood.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
