blood sport

plural blood sports · alternative bloodsport

1. countableliterallyuncountableA sport involving the killing or the shedding of blood of persons or animals.

   The way she said, “Are you not entertained?”—surely we both knew it was a quote from Gladiator, a movie in which a hero falls from grace, is forced to perform blood sport for the pleasure of spectators, and emerges victorious, having survived humiliation and debasement to soar higher than ever.

   2023 December 6, Sam Lansky, “Person of Year 2023 : Taylor Swift”, in Time, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2023

2. countablefigurativelyuncountableAny activity that revels in the misfortune of others, or taking advantage of others.

   Shopping here is bloodsport, and you are the game, but the vendors are friendly.

   2003, J. D. Brown, Josh Chin, Michelle Sans, Sharon Owyang, Beth Reiber, Graeme Smith, edited by Peter Neville-Hadley, Frommer's China, page 248

   1 more example

   Debating the topic, of course, is practically a blood sport. There is an essay genre devoted to “Leaving New York.”

   2020 June 5, Alyson Krueger, “The Agonizing Question: Is New York City Worth It Anymore?”, in New York Times

3. countableuncountableBDSMSynonym of bloodplay.

   Synonyms: bloodplay