lifeblood

[ lahyf-bluhd ]

/ ˈlaɪfˌblʌd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lifeblood ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the blood, considered as essential to maintain life: to spill one's lifeblood in war.

a life-giving, vital, or animating element: Agriculture is the lifeblood of the country.

Nearby words

life-saving, life-size, life-support, life-support system, life-threatening, lifeblood, lifeboat, lifeboatman, lifecast, lifeful, lifeguard

Origin of lifeblood

First recorded in 1580–90; life + blood

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lifeblood

This is the heart of the agent recruitment process that is the lifeblood of CIA today.
CIA Agents Assess: How Real Is ‘Homeland’?|Chuck Cogan, John MacGaffin|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is because immigrants are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy.
How Immigrants Will Save Social Security|Eleanor Clift|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
ISTANBUL, Turkey — The lifeblood of the death-dealing Islamic State is diesel fuel.
Is NATO Ally Turkey Tacitly Fueling the ISIS War Machine?|Thomas Seibert|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Negotiation and compromise are the lifeblood of democracy, not poison to the body politic.
Border Kids Crisis—Impotent Congress|John Avlon|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

As an evangelical, that sort of contrarianism is in my lifeblood.
I’m a Christian, and Ken Ham Doesn’t Speak for Me|Brad Kramer|February 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not while my hands are free, my body quick With lifeblood, and my heart a man's.
Virginia, A Tragedy|Marion Forster Gilmore
Hundreds of thousands of men dyed its soil with their lifeblood.
America's War for Humanity|Thomas Herbert Russell
Survey was the soul and lifeblood of the medical services supplied by Hospital Earth to the inhabited planets of the Galaxy.
Contamination Crew|Alan Edward Nourse
Business was crippled; industry was squeezed dry of its lifeblood.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
De very stream of lifeblood in me was dryin' up, it 'peared lak.
Slave Narratives Vol. XIV. South Carolina, Part 1|Various

British Dictionary definitions for lifeblood

lifeblood

/ (ˈlaɪfˌblʌd) /

noun

the blood, considered as vital to sustain life

the essential or animating force

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

lifeblood

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of lifeblood

Examples from the Web for lifeblood

British Dictionary definitions for lifeblood

lifeblood

noun