cutthroat

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A murderer who slits the throats of victims.

2. 2

   An unscrupulous, ruthless or unethical person.

3. 3

   A three-player pocket billiards game where the object is to be the last player with at…

   A three-player pocket billiards game where the object is to be the last player with at least one ball still on the table.

4. ›+ 4 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Ellipsis of cutthroat compound (“an agentive-instrumental verb-noun compound word”).

      • Children go through a phase of compound acquisition in which they invent cutthroats spontaneously before dropping the habit again.
   2. 5

      Involving the cutting of throats.

   3. 6

      Of or relating to a card game where everyone plays for him or herself rather than playing…

      Of or relating to a card game where everyone plays for him or herself rather than playing with a partner.

      • He found that playing cutthroat Spades was much more difficult than playing with a partner.
   4. 7

      Ruthlessly competitive, dog-eat-dog.

      • Law is a cutthroat business, you always have to look out to see who is trying to outdo you.
      • More specifically, Scrabblers are diehard, competitive, and occasionally cutthroat players who treat the game like it's chess or baseball...

The neighborhood

• neighborcutthroat eel