Meanings
- idiomaticuncountableIn a competitive situation, the exhibition of apparent weakness or vulnerability by one party, especially when this leads to a feeling of vulnerability or greater pressure to perform on the part of the weak party, or enhanced expectation of victory by the others.
[The] Democrats smell blood in the water. Twelve long years sitting on the sidelines. Twelve lean years. Twelve hungry years.
2004, Gardner Dozois, The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection2 more examples
The first reason Powell gave to explain Carter's press miseries was the idea of "blood in the water"—that more bad press goes to those who have just had bad press. Almost nobody in main-stream politics is as likely as a fourth-year incumbent to have just come off a stint of bad press.
1983, Michael J. Robinson, Margaret A. Sheehan, Over the Wire and on TVBut Justice won the Intuit round, and now Microsoft-baiters want to block deployment of the Microsoft Network. As a recent article in the Wall Street Journal aptly noted, competitors sense blood in the water.
1995 May 29, John Gallant, Network WorldSynonyms: chum in the water
- uncountableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: the result of a marine predator's attack.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounIn a competitive situation, the exhibition of apparent weakness or vulnerability by one party, especially when this leads to a feeling of vulnerability or greater pressure to perform on the part of the weak party, or enhanced expectation of victory by the others.
Origin
Referring to the emergence of predators such as sharks (and possible feeding frenzy) when blood is spilled in the water.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
blood in the water. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blood%20in%20the%20water
“blood in the water.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blood%20in%20the%20water. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blood in the water,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blood%20in%20the%20water.
Source: blood in the water on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.