bloodbath

American

[bluhd-bath, -bahth] / ˈblʌdˌbæθ, -ˌbɑθ /

Or blood bath

noun

plural

bloodbaths

a ruthless slaughter of a great number of people; massacre.
Informal. a period of disastrous loss or reversal.

A few mutual funds performed well in the general bloodbath of the stock market.
a widespread dismissal or purge, as of employees.

Etymology

Origin of bloodbath

First recorded in 1865–70; blood + bath ¹

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.

The AI-inspired software bloodbath continues and has spread to other firms, including any tech company that doesn’t produce flawless results.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

"The aim was to avoid a bloodbath and bring the actors back to reason," a senior Vatican source said.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

Hence, Fiennes’ outrageous pageantry sharpens “The Bone Temple” into a tragedy as opposed to just another bloodbath.

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2026

It was though, she insists in the Daily Telegraph, a bloodbath she was expecting, having been warned of just this when she was running to be Conservative leader last year.

From BBC • May 2, 2025

In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte, the best general in France, put an end to the revolutionary bloodbath.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023