lifeblood

[ lahyf-bluhd ]

/ ˈlaɪfˌblʌd /

Save This Word!

See 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.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of lifeblood

First recorded in 1580–90; life + blood

Words nearby lifeblood

life-and-death, life annuity, life arrow, life assurance, life belt, lifeblood, lifeboat, lifeboatman, life buoy, life car, life-care

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lifeblood in a sentence

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program, and that’s where Frese shines.
Brenda Frese, closing in on win No. 500, has made Maryland women’s basketball a juggernaut|Kareem Copeland|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
The revenue is the lifeblood of the company and being part of the team gives me sense of fulfillment.
Want a job in tech? Flockjay pitches its sales training service as an on-ramp to tech careers|Jonathan Shieber|January 15, 2021|TechCrunch
Hard “key performance indicators” or KPIs, such as number of calls, meetings, leads, and closes per month, supply the lifeblood to sales teams.
Better use of technology can help us close racial and gender gaps at work|matthewheimer|January 6, 2021|Fortune
Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program, and historically, the top programs have all been located in fertile recruiting areas.
How Do College Football Dynasties Fall?|Jake Lourim|November 25, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

“Innovation is the lifeblood of this company,” Dorer said in an interview this summer.
How Clorox’s new CEO plans to turn disinfectant wipes into future wins|Phil Wahba|October 21, 2020|Fortune
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
So speaks he, and takes the sword in his throat unfalteringly, and the lifeblood spreads in a wave over his armour.
The Aeneid of Virgil|Virgil
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
The poor victim sank upon the floor, the lifeblood streaming from her heart.
City Crimes|Greenhorn
That cancer is eating away the heart and corrupting the very lifeblood of this nation.
Our National Defense:|George Hebard Maxwell
They delighted too much, to look upon the lifeblood flowing from the heart; and accordingly shed it most profusely.
Chronicles of Border Warfare|Alexander Scott Withers

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

Origin of lifeblood

Words nearby lifeblood

Words related to lifeblood

How to use lifeblood in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lifeblood