blood sport

noun

1

: a sport or contest (such as hunting or cockfighting) involving bloodshed

2

: a ruthless or cutthroat competition or conflict

… the blood sport that is political blogging.

—Massimo Calabresi

Examples of blood sport in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gender policing is now a blood sport online, where women who seem to defy traditional expectations of staying hot, quiet, chaste, and weak are humiliated and attacked en masse. —Rebecca Jennings, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

Either way the worship and the blood sport go hand in hand. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024

Illinois has the most local governments in the nation, multiplying the chances for corruption Illinois’ arcane ballot rules turn politics into a blood sport where only the most powerful and savvy survive Chicago police bet big on pricey surveillance cameras. —Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2024

Summer is for the swords-and-sandals epics, like this series set in ancient Rome during the era of gladiator blood sport. —Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 20 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1