blood money: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Formal, Literary, Legal, Journalistic
Quick answer
What does “blood money” mean?
Money paid to the family of a person who has been killed, either as compensation or as a bribe to prevent revenge.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
Money paid to the family of a person who has been killed, either as compensation or as a bribe to prevent revenge.
1) Money obtained at the cost of another's life or suffering. 2) Historically, a payment made to avoid a blood feud. 3) Money paid to a hired assassin.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or primary usage. Both use the term in legal, journalistic, and literary contexts with identical connotations.
Connotations
Highly negative in both varieties, associated with murder, betrayal, and moral compromise.
Frequency
Low frequency in everyday speech in both varieties. More common in news reports on crime, legal discussions, and historical/fictional narratives.
Grammar
How to Use “blood money” in a Sentence
The family refused the blood money [offered by the killer's clan].He was accused of paying blood money [to cover up the murder].Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “blood money” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
adverb
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
adjective
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare; used metaphorically to criticise profits linked to fatal accidents or exploitative practices (e.g., 'They're trading in blood money').
Academic
Used in legal, historical, and criminology texts to discuss compensation, feud resolution, or the economics of crime.
Everyday
Very rare. Might be used in strong moral condemnation (e.g., 'I won't take that blood money!').
Technical
A specific term in certain legal systems (e.g., Diyya in Islamic law) and in discussions of organised crime.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “blood money”
Strong
Neutral
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “blood money”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “blood money”
- Using it to mean 'a lot of money' (e.g., 'He made blood money on that deal'). Incorrect. It must relate to death or suffering.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Not necessarily. In some legal systems, it is a formal, court-ordered compensation (Diyya). More commonly, it has negative connotations of bribery or morally unacceptable profit.
Yes, in a secondary sense. The money paid to a hitman for committing murder can be called blood money.
No. It is a low-frequency term used in specific contexts like news, law, history, and literature. Most learners will encounter it passively rather than use it actively.
The concept is ancient and appears in many cultures (e.g., Old English 'wergild', Old Norse 'weregild', Islamic 'Diyya') as a payment to a slain person's kin to prevent a cycle of revenge killings (a blood feud).
Money paid to the family of a person who has been killed, either as compensation or as a bribe to prevent revenge.
Blood money is usually formal, literary, legal, journalistic in register.
Blood money: in British English it is pronounced /ˈblʌd ˌmʌn.i/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈblʌd ˌmʌn.i/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “The company's profits were seen as blood money, earned from unsafe working conditions.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of BLOOD on the MONEY. The image of cash stained with blood helps remember it's money linked to death.
Conceptual Metaphor
MONEY IS A SUBSTANCE THAT CAN BE TAINTED / CORRUPTED (by blood/guilt).
Practice
Quiz
In which context is the term 'blood money' LEAST likely to be used appropriately?