hemorrhage

American  

[hem-er-ij, hem-rij] / ˈhɛm ər ɪdʒ, ˈhɛm rɪdʒ /

noun

hemorrhages plural

1. a profuse discharge of blood, as from a ruptured blood vessel; bleeding.

2. the loss of assets, especially in large amounts.

3. any widespread or uncontrolled loss or diffusion.

---

verb (used without object)

hemorrhaged, hemorrhaging

1. to bleed profusely.

2. to lose assets, especially in large amounts.

verb (used with object)

hemorrhaged, hemorrhaging

1. to lose (assets).

   a company that was hemorrhaging money.

hemorrhage Scientific  

/ hĕm′ər-ĭj /

1. Excessive or uncontrollable bleeding, often caused by trauma, surgical or obstetrical complications, or the advanced stages of certain illnesses, such as cirrhosis and peptic ulcer disease.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hemorrhagic
  adjective
• posthemorrhagic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hemorrhages
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hemorrhage

1665–75; < Latin haemorrhagia < Greek haimorrhagía. See hemo-, -rrhagia

Explanation

Medically speaking, a hemorrhage is a rapid loss of blood. If you fall and hit your head really hard, the doctors will check to see there's no cerebral hemorrhage, or bleeding in your brain. Hemorrhage is pronounced HEM-or-edge. Blame the Greeks for the funny spelling, because like many medical terms, this one comes from Greek roots. Besides the medical meaning, we use hemorrhage to mean the uncontrollable loss of other things. If sudden disaster is making you hemorrhage money, you'll have to cut back on fancy dinners and new shoes. Can I recommend frozen pizza?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hemorrhage hemorrhages hemorrhaged hemorrhaging

Kikuo Hatakeyama, 72, has served as the mayor of Hachirogata in north-east Japan since 2008, but fell ill in February and suffered a brain hemorrhage.

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

Money continues to hemorrhage, as does the roster of big-name golfers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

The researchers also found strong evidence that daily aspirin increases the risk of serious extracranial hemorrhage and likely raises the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2026

Doctors found that he had suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage resulting from a ruptured brain aneurysm.

From Slate ● Dec. 8, 2025

It seems she had one hemorrhage after another.

From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway

Monoclonal antibodies that are indicated for the early treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, for example, have a risk of brain hemorrhages and bleeds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

Acute exposure by inhalation can cause respiratory issues such as difficulty breathing, congestion, edema and lung hemorrhages, while oral ingestion can cause adverse effects in the blood and thyroid.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2025

For the study, researchers looked at 4,879 people who had ruptured brain aneurysms, called aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhages.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2024

Then there’s the tendency to conflate concussions, which are considered mild traumatic brain injuries, with more severe conditions, like penetrating head injuries or brain hemorrhages.

From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2024

"Urtica dioica. Effective in treating kidney disorders, hemorrhages, and gout."

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

The early days were rife with failure and the operation hemorrhaged money.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

With only $2 million to $4 million in annual sales, the New Jersey-based business hemorrhaged money.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

For almost 90 miles, he pushed the other plane as both jets hemorrhaged fuel, until they crossed the border with Laos.

From New York Times ● Dec. 21, 2023

I started my career at local newspapers, which hemorrhaged revenue as advertising moved online.

From Slate ● Dec. 3, 2023

They had both hemorrhaged badly, and blood plasma was in short supply our needs being low on the wartime priority list.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

“Sometimes I think I can feel the planet just hemorrhaging under all this greed. Like it’s tectonic,” she laments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Misoprostol has been available by prescription for decades as a treatment for stomach ulcers and to manage postpartum hemorrhaging.

From BBC ● May 1, 2026

Last November two members of the Try Guys, a gaggle of broadcasters best known for their experimental exploits on YouTube, made a startling admission to fans: Their podcasts were hemorrhaging money.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

“I have a disease that will inevitably make me completely disabled, and I can’t afford the treatment because I’m hemorrhaging money to a 20-year-old debt.”

From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026

First, Mr. Kleiman, our merry sunshine, had another bout of gastrointestinal hemorrhaging yesterday and will have to stay in bed for at least three weeks.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

Related Words

• ooze