bleed

[ bleed ]
See synonyms for: bleedbledbleeding on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),bled [bled], /blɛd/, bleed·ing.
  1. 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.

  2. (of injured tissue, excrescences, etc.) to exude blood: a wart that is bleeding.

  1. (of a plant) to exude sap, resin, etc., from a wound.

  2. (of dye or paint) to run or become diffused: All the colors bled when the dress was washed.

  3. (of a liquid) to ooze or flow out.

  4. to feel pity, sorrow, or anguish: My heart bleeds for you. A nation bleeds for its dead heroes.

  5. to suffer wounds or death, as in battle: The soldiers bled for the cause.

  6. (of a broadcast signal) to interfere with another signal: CB transmissions bleeding over into walkie-talkies.

  7. Printing. (of printed matter) to run off the edges of a page, either by design or through mutilation caused by too close trimming.

  8. Slang. to pay out money, as when overcharged or threatened with extortion.

  9. 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),bled [bled], /blɛd/, bleed·ing.
  1. to cause to lose blood, especially surgically: Doctors no longer bleed their patients to reduce fever.

  2. to lose or emit (blood or sap).

  1. to drain or draw sap, water, electricity, etc., from (something): to bleed a pipeline of excess air.

  2. to remove trapped air from (as an automotive brake system) by opening a bleeder valve.

  3. to obtain an excessive amount from; extort money from.

  4. Printing.

    • to permit (printed illustrations or ornamentation) to run off the page or sheet.

    • to trim the margin of (a book or sheet) so closely as to mutilate the text or illustration.

noun
  1. Printing.

    • a sheet or page margin trimmed so as to mutilate the text or illustration.

    • a part thus trimmed off.

  2. Medicine/Medical. an instance of bleeding; hemorrhage: an intracranial bleed.

adjective
  1. Printing. characterized by bleeding: a bleed page.

Verb Phrases
  1. bleed off, to draw or extract: to bleed off sap from a maple tree; to bleed off static electricity.

Idioms about bleed

  1. bleed white. white (def. 42).

Origin of bleed

1
before 1000; Middle English bleden,Old English blēdan, derivative of blōdblood

Other words from bleed

  • outbleed, verb (used with object), out·bled, out·bleed·ing.
  • un·bled, adjective

Words that may be confused with bleed

Words Nearby bleed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bleed in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bleed

bleed

/ (bliːd) /


verbbleeds, bleeding or bled
  1. (intr) to lose or emit blood

  2. (tr) to remove or draw blood from (a person or animal)

  1. (intr) to be injured or die, as for a cause or one's country

  2. (of plants) to exude (sap or resin), esp from a cut

  3. (tr) informal to obtain relatively large amounts of money, goods, etc, esp by extortion

  4. (tr) to draw liquid or gas from (a container or enclosed system): to bleed the hydraulic brakes

  5. (intr) (of dye or paint) to run or become mixed, as when wet

  6. to print or be printed so that text, illustrations, etc, run off the trimmed page

  7. (tr) to trim (the edges of a printed sheet) so closely as to cut off some of the printed matter

  8. (intr) civil engineering building trades (of a mixture) to exude (a liquid) during compaction, such as water from cement

  9. bleed someone or something dry to extort gradually all the resources of a person or thing

  10. one's heart bleeds used to express sympathetic grief, but often used ironically

noun
  1. printing

    • an illustration or sheet trimmed so that some matter is bled

    • (as modifier): a bleed page

  2. printing the trimmings of a sheet that has been bled

Origin of bleed

1
Old English blēdan; see blood

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with bleed

bleed

In addition to the idiom beginning with bleed

  • bleed someone white

also see:

  • my heart bleeds for you

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.