bloodletting: Meaning and Definition of

blood•let•ting

Pronunciation: (blud'let"ing), [key]
— n.
  1. the act or practice of letting blood by opening a vein; phlebotomy.
  2. bloodshed or slaughter.
  3. bloodbath.
  4. severe cutbacks or reduction in personnel, appropriations, etc.: The company went through a period of bloodletting in the 1970s.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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