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cutthroat

1 of 2

noun

cut·​throat ˈkət-ˌthrōt How to pronounce cutthroat (audio)
Synonyms of cutthroatnext
1
2
: a cruel unprincipled person

cutthroat

2 of 2

adjective

1
2
: marked by unprincipled practices : ruthless
cutthroat competition
3
: characterized by each player playing independently rather than having a permanent partner
used especially of partnership games adapted for three players
cutthroat bridge

Examples of cutthroat in a Sentence

Noun while traveling the ancient Silk Road, traders were constant prey to cutthroats and thieves Adjective cutthroat business practices intended to drive competitors out of business
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Not having enough homes to rent or buy creates cutthroat competition and drives up prices. Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 2025 The best months are usually July and August, when the water warms enough for dry-fly-fishing but the cutthroat are still hungry after the long, cold spring. Outside, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
Frogposting, then, pits the intractably byzantine, soulless and cutthroat nature of the contemporary economy in a simple binary against what the posters envision as the green, healthy, naturalness of the Earth—framed as a joke, the base unit of online commentary. Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2025 But Amodei is also engaged in a multi-trillion dollar arms race, a cutthroat competition to develop a form of intelligence the world has never seen. Nichole Marks, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cutthroat

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cutthroat was in 1535

Cite this Entry

“Cutthroat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cutthroat. Accessed 6 Dec. 2025.

Kids Definition

cutthroat

1 of 2 noun
cut·​throat ˈkət-ˌthrōt How to pronounce cutthroat (audio)
1
: a person likely to cut someone's throat
2
: a cruel person with no scruples

cutthroat

2 of 2 adjective
: ruthless
cutthroat competition

More from Merriam-Webster on cutthroat

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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