blood money

American  

noun

1. a fee paid to a hired murderer.

2. compensation paid to the next of kin of a slain person.

3. money obtained ruthlessly and at a cost of suffering to others.

4. money paid to an informer in order to cause somebody to be arrested, convicted, or especially executed.

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blood money British  

noun

1. compensation paid to the relatives of a murdered person

2. money paid to a hired murderer

3. a reward for information about a criminal, esp a murderer

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Example Sentences

The talks played out over the last year as critics became increasingly vocal about the potential for taxpayers to be saddled with the bill if the Games lose money.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2026

Hybrids have relative pricing power and carry healthy profit margins, while most pure EVs still lose money.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 2, 2026

On Tuesday the Welsh government said that it expects to lose money from its £3.7bn capital budget because of the Defence Investment Plan - but it was not clear how much.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

Discovery lose money by scrapping plans for the original DC Extended Universe, but they reinvested millions tapping Gunn to retool DC movies into something that viewers would actually want to watch.

From Salon • Jun. 27, 2026

The division’s first fifteen years were consistently, amazingly profitable—there wasn’t the first hint that it might be running risks that would cause it to lose money, much less cripple its giant parent.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis