bleed
Americanverb (used without object)
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bleeds,
present (3rd person singular)
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bled,
past participle, past
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bleeding
present participle
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to lose blood from the vascular system, either internally into the body or externally through a natural orifice or break in the skin.
to bleed from the mouth.
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(of injured tissue, excrescences, etc.) to exude blood.
a wart that is bleeding.
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(of a plant) to exude sap, resin, etc., from a wound.
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(of dye or paint) to run or become diffused.
All the colors bled when the dress was washed.
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(of a liquid) to ooze or flow out.
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to feel pity, sorrow, or anguish.
My heart bleeds for you. A nation bleeds for its dead heroes.
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to suffer wounds or death, as in battle.
The soldiers bled for the cause.
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(of a broadcast signal) to interfere with another signal.
CB transmissions bleeding over into walkie-talkies.
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Printing. (of printed matter) to run off the edges of a page, either by design or through mutilation caused by too close trimming.
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Slang. to pay out money, as when overcharged or threatened with extortion.
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Metallurgy. (of a cooling ingot or casting) to have molten metal force its way through the solidified exterior because of internal gas pressure.
verb (used with object)
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bleeds,
present (3rd person singular)
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bled,
past participle, past
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bleeding
present participle
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to cause to lose blood, especially surgically.
Doctors no longer bleed their patients to reduce fever.
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to lose or emit (blood or sap).
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to drain or draw sap, water, electricity, etc., from (something).
to bleed a pipeline of excess air.
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to remove trapped air from (as an automotive brake system) by opening a bleeder valve.
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to obtain an excessive amount from; extort money from.
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Printing.
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to permit (printed illustrations or ornamentation) to run off the page or sheet.
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to trim the margin of (a book or sheet) so closely as to mutilate the text or illustration.
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noun
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Printing.
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a sheet or page margin trimmed so as to mutilate the text or illustration.
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a part thus trimmed off.
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Medicine/Medical. an instance of bleeding; hemorrhage.
an intracranial bleed.
adjective
verb phrase
idioms
verb
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(intr) to lose or emit blood
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(tr) to remove or draw blood from (a person or animal)
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(intr) to be injured or die, as for a cause or one's country
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(of plants) to exude (sap or resin), esp from a cut
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informal (tr) to obtain relatively large amounts of money, goods, etc, esp by extortion
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(tr) to draw liquid or gas from (a container or enclosed system)
to bleed the hydraulic brakes
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(intr) (of dye or paint) to run or become mixed, as when wet
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to print or be printed so that text, illustrations, etc, run off the trimmed page
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(tr) to trim (the edges of a printed sheet) so closely as to cut off some of the printed matter
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(intr) civil engineering building trades (of a mixture) to exude (a liquid) during compaction, such as water from cement
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to extort gradually all the resources of a person or thing
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used to express sympathetic grief, but often used ironically
noun
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printing
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an illustration or sheet trimmed so that some matter is bled
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( as modifier )
a bleed page
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printing the trimmings of a sheet that has been bled
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bleedsimple
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bleedssimple
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have bledperfect
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has bledperfect
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am bleedingprogressive
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are bleedingprogressive
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is bleedingprogressive
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have been bleedingperfect progressive
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has been bleedingperfect progressive
Past
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bledsimple
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had bledperfect
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was bleedingprogressive
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were bleedingprogressive
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had been bleedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bleed
before 1000; Middle English bleden, Old English blēdan, derivative of blōd blood
Explanation
When you bleed, blood runs or oozes out of your body. Cutting your finger when you're chopping vegetables can make you bleed. Some kind of illness or injury, particularly one that cuts or scrapes your skin, can make you bleed. In long ago days of medical care, doctors would deliberately bleed patients to treat specific conditions, though today we mainly bleed due to accidents. You can also use bleed to mean "drain of money or resources," as when a greedy relative bleeds his wealthy grandmother, using her fortune to buy himself fancy cars.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He has also survived health scares, notably a fall in his bathroom in 2024 that caused a brain bleed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
"I got what I wanted and it doesn't sit right," she observes, describing parties full of "big shots and barbies" whose empty talk makes her "ears bleed".
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
WSJLI: So is the hope that you are shifting the culture and injecting Oatly into drink culture in these bigger markets, then having that bleed into the consumer mindset across the board?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
It can’t be all of them, because there’s some pretty serious theological differences that invariably bleed into politics.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
“I dare not bleed her further,” he said helplessly.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
A kick drum bleeds into a vocal mic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
Doctors managed to stem the bleeding but failed to investigate its cause and she suffered multiple bleeds until she gave birth.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
The curious light of gloaming makes the landscape alien to us as color bleeds slowly away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
“If it bleeds, it leads” is no more, replaced by something that stinks in its own way.
From Slate ● Apr. 7, 2026
There’s a cut in my heart, it bleeds money.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
For England, a winter of discontent has bled into the heat of the summer.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Higher gas prices, for their part, have bled over into other parts of the economy, while the temporary closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz also raised the cost of fertilizer and other critical chemicals.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
And the losses have bled through to Asia, where tech-heavy Seoul and Tokyo -- which have led the region's surge this year -- sank from record highs.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
“If it weren’t for their quick action, he would have bled out,” Churchill said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
Brian’s favorite was the giant SweeTart candies, which he licked until his tongue was so raw it bled.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
If Reilly was at times overbearing — and known for being the kind of hellacious boss who gave employees night sweats — he was also generous and a genuine bleeding heart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Rectal bleeding was the strongest predictor of a colorectal cancer diagnosis, raising the odds by 8.5 times.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Non-tradable inflation eased to 3.4% year over year, and core measures excluding food and energy held at 2.5%, “showing little sign that the fuel shock is bleeding into other prices,” Nguyen said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The upbeat take from Trivariate wasn’t enough to stem the bleeding, however.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
Fingers bleeding, we pluck the sharp, pointy, sticky bolls, stuff them into sacks, then press them into bales and bind them with cord.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
