cutthroat

[ kuht-throht ]

noun

1. a person who cuts the throat of another; a murderer.

adjective

1. murderous.
2. ruthless:

   cutthroat competition.

3. pertaining to a game, as of cards, in which each of three or more persons acts and scores as an individual.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cutthroat¹

First recorded in 1525–35; cut + throat

Example Sentences

Enterprise sites have to face cutthroat competition at every stage, particularly from brands with sophisticated SEO strategies.

From Search Engine Watch

He is on a mission to find something hidden, and along the way joins forces with cutthroat attorney Hong Cha-Young.

From Time

That might not sound like much, but few things compare with having a 20-inch cutthroat on the end of your line, letting him make a few runs, fighting the urge to rush him to the net while not playing him too long.

From Washington Post

The move downmarket seems like an admission the company can't—or doesn't want to—compete in the cutthroat premium-smartphone market.

From Ars Technica

The normally cutthroat media industry has — in some ways, at least — been feeling a little less competitive for the past few months for top publishers.

From Digiday

It was a cutthroat move from investors, hard-pressed to turn a profit on a film that was a domestic disappointment.

From The Daily Beast

The casting process for fashion shows is notoriously cutthroat and can be humiliating for young models.

From The Daily Beast

The  Silicon Valley tech firms tend to be  every bit as cutthroat and greedy as any capitalist enterprise before it.

From The Daily Beast

First impressions are tough to eradicate—especially in the cutthroat world of Hollywood.

From The Daily Beast

On the lake a cutthroat trout breaks the surface; pieces of it follow him into the air.

From The Daily Beast

I might have guessed that in some such cutthroat manner would your vaunt of winning me at the sword-point be accomplished.

From Project Gutenberg

The captain had a hard story to tell, and he offered five hundred dollars to any one who would shoot this bloody cutthroat.

From Project Gutenberg

Knowing the cutthroat's recklessness and his almost insane thirst for blood, he feared that this might happen.

From Project Gutenberg

We can deal with that old buzzard as freely and as profitably as if we were in a cutthroat pawnshop.

From Project Gutenberg

I went fishing, and in the first pool of the river below the upper lake, caught several two- and three-pound cutthroat trout.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ferocious
• vicious