bleed
Americanverb (used without object)
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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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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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has bledperfect 3rd person singular
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have bledperfect
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has been bleedingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been bleedingperfect progressive
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am bleedingprogressive 1st person singular
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are bleedingprogressive
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is bleedingprogressive 3rd person singular
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bleedingparticiple
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bleedssingular 3rd person
Past
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had bledperfect
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were bleedingprogressive plural
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was bleedingprogressive singular
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bledsimple
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had been bleedingperfect progressive
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bledparticiple
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.
Weak retail demand can bleed into the institutional market through Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, too.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
The dancers — now unified in formations that softly bleed into one another like clouds — demand attention.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
Luckily, medication had reduced the bleed, and there was no need for brain surgery.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
That was never far from our thoughts as we watched “The Late Show” thrash, often jubilantly, against the coming night over the 10 months that the network gave it to bleed out.
From Salon • May 21, 2026
They found a metal examination table on wheels and rolled it into the bleed area.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
