bloodletting: Meaning and Definition of
blood•let•ting
Pronunciation: (blud'let"ing), [key] — n.
- the act or practice of letting blood by opening a vein; phlebotomy.
- bloodshed or slaughter.
- bloodbath.
- 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.