cutthroat

[kuht-throht] /ˈkʌtˌθroʊt/
noun
1.
a person who cuts, throats; murderer.
adjective
2.
murderous.
3.
ruthless:
cutthroat competition.
4.
pertaining to a game, as of cards, in which each of three or more persons acts and scores as an individual.
Origin
1525-35; cut + throat
Examples from the web for cutthroat
  • It's true that any company in a cutthroat business needs to keep a tight lid on product rollout schedules.
  • Over the past three years, the smartphone arms race between a handful of companies has been cutthroat.
  • There's a tendency to think these teenagers are all cutthroat, that it's all about getting discovered.
  • Ideally, a college would have a sense of tightknit community and cooperation instead of a cutthroat and stressful environment.
  • The threatened greenback cutthroat trout once stared extinction in the face.
  • cutthroat trout vary widely in size, coloration, and habitats.
Word Origin and History for cutthroat
n.

1530s, from cut (v.) + throat (n.). As an adjective from 1560s. Of card games from 1823.

Slang definitions & phrases for cutthroat

cutthroat

adjective

Very harsh and barbarous: a cutthroat game/ cutthroat competition (1567+)