dog-eat-dog 1 n. A way of living in which every person tries to get what he wants for himself no matter how badly or cruelly he must treat others to get it; readiness to do anything to get what you want. In some early frontier towns it was dog-eat-dog.
dog-eat-dog 2 adj. Ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what you want. During the California gold rush, men had a dog-eat-dog life.