bloodbath
- 01 C1 Advanced
a situation where many people lose their jobs or a company loses a lot of money.
a figurative term for significant financial losses or large-scale redundancies within an industry or organization.
Simple“The stock market crash was a bloodbath for tech investors.”
In context“Following the merger, the corporate restructuring turned into a bloodbath as hundreds of middle-management positions were eliminated overnight.”
Synonymsshakeoutrout - 02 C1 Advanced
a game or contest where one side is defeated very badly.
a figurative extension referring to a heavy, humiliating defeat or an exceptionally aggressive confrontation in a competitive context.
Simple“The championship game was a bloodbath, with the home team losing by forty points.”
In context“Analysts predicted a close match, but it proved to be a bloodbath as the defending champions dismantled their opponents' defense.”
“Sharpeville's local memorial park, the Human Rights Precinct, tells the story of how the streets of township became the scene of a bloodbath.”
From blood + bath, the latter used referring to a metaphorical deluge. Compare West Frisian bloedbad (“bloodbath”), Dutch bloedbad (“bloodbath”), German Blutbad (“bloodbath”), Danish blodbad (“bloodbath”), Norwegian Bokmål blodbad (“bloodbath”), Swedish blodbad (“bloodbath”), Icelandic blóðbad (“bloodbath”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.