cutthroat
adj.describing a situation where people are very competitive and willing to do anything to win, even if it hurts others. It often feels like a 'cutthroat' environment where you have to be the best to survive.
adj.characterised by extreme competition and a willingness to use ruthless or dishonest tactics to achieve success. Often used to describe professional environments or markets where survival depends on outperforming others.
“The tech industry is a cutthroat place to work.”
“In a cutthroat market, companies often lower their prices to the point where they barely make a profit.”
“The cutthroat nature of the publishing world means that even established authors must constantly produce high-quality work to maintain their visibility and sales.”
“Against this backdrop, the rat race becomes more cutthroat.”
From cut + throat.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.