dog eat dog
Every man himself
Dog eat dog describes ruthless competition where people will harm others to succeed—a world where self-interest overrides loyalty or fairness.
Usually appears before a noun: It's a dog-eat-dog world out there.
The image is of animals so desperate they turn on their own kind.
Also spelled dog-eat-dog.
- ruthlessLacking any compassion
- social DarwinismMisapplied natural selection to society
- law of the jungleRuthless competition governs behavior
- predatoryExploiting the vulnerable
- zero-sumBalanced gains and losses
merciless · competitive · no holds barred · fierce · rivalry · cutthroat · bare knuckle · vicious · kill or be killed · pitiless · tooth and claw · self-interest · winner-take-all · take no prisoners · exploitation · blood in the water · relentless · brutal
- metaphorsbroken heart, dead metaphor, mixed metaphor, time is money, extended metaphor
- competitioncompete, competitor, contender, winner, sports
- animal fablesfable, fables, beast fables, beast fable, animal fable
- Competition idiomslevel playing field, down to the wire, neck and neck, win hands down, come from behind
- competition metaphorslevel playing field, race to the bottom, win-win, rat race, front runner
- greedgreed, avarice, covetousness, cupidity, materialism
dog eat dogcooperative
Jointly operated enterprise
collaborative · symbiotic · win-win · mutualistic · mutually beneficial
dog eat dognurturing
Supportive care-giving
supportive · benevolent · gentle · forgiving · welcoming
dog, dogs, dogged, doggedly, eat, eats, eating, eaten, eater