开刀 (kāi dāo) — to have or perform surgery; to make someone the first target of attack or punishment (in 拿...开刀)

Definition

Examples

• 他下周要开刀做心脏手术。
  Tā xià zhōu yào kāi dāo zuò xīn zàng shǒu shù.
  He is going to have heart surgery next week.
• 医生给他开了一次刀，现在好多了。
  Yī shēng gěi tā kāi le yí cì dāo, xiàn zài hǎo duō le.
  The doctor performed an operation on him, and now he's much better.
• 公司先拿新来的员工开刀，大家都很紧张。
  Gōng sī xiān ná xīn lái de yuán gōng kāi dāo, dà jiā dōu hěn jǐn zhāng.
  The company first made the new employee the target, and everyone was nervous.