bleach
Americanverb (used with object)
-
bleaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bleached,
past participle, past
-
bleaching
present participle
-
to make whiter or lighter in color, such as by exposure to sunlight or a chemical agent; remove the color from.
Do you think she bleaches her hair?
-
to cause (coral) to undergo a loss of color that indicates declining health: caused by a loss of the algae that normally live symbiotically in the coral’s tissues.
In sufficient concentrations, the chemicals in certain sunscreens can bleach coral.
-
Photography. to convert (the silver image of a negative or print) to a silver halide, either to remove the image or to change its tone.
verb (used without object)
-
bleaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bleached,
past participle, past
-
bleaching
present participle
-
to become whiter or lighter in color.
The grass in the fields gradually bleached as winter approached, leaving the landscape pale and drab.
-
(of coral) to undergo a loss of color that indicates declining health: caused by a loss of the algae that normally live symbiotically in the coral’s tissues.
Coral reefs are bleaching due to ocean pollution and rising sea temperatures.
noun
-
bleaches
plural
-
a bleaching agent.
-
an act of bleaching.
-
degree of paleness achieved in bleaching.
verb
noun
-
a bleaching agent
-
the degree of whiteness resulting from bleaching
-
the act of bleaching
Synonym Usage
See whiten.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
bleachabilitynoun
-
bleachernoun
-
nonbleachnoun
-
overbleachverb
-
rebleachverb
-
bleachableadjective
-
half-bleachedadjective
-
semibleachedadjective
-
unbleachedadjective
-
unbleachingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bleachsimple
-
bleachessimple
-
have bleachedperfect
-
has bleachedperfect
-
am bleachingprogressive
-
are bleachingprogressive
-
is bleachingprogressive
-
have been bleachingperfect progressive
-
has been bleachingperfect progressive
Past
-
bleachedsimple
-
had bleachedperfect
-
was bleachingprogressive
-
were bleachingprogressive
-
had been bleachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bleach
First recorded before 1050; Middle English blechen, Old English blǣcean, derivative of blāc “pale”; cognate with Old Norse bleikja, Old High German bleichēn
Explanation
To bleach is to whiten, or to strip of color. After many summers of use, the sun will bleach your favorite beach towel. You might bleach your white laundry, or bleach your dark brown hair until it's pale blonde. In both cases, you use bleach, a strong chemical solution that can often be found in laundry rooms and hair salons. The Old English root word is blæcan, "bleach" or "whiten," from a Germanic source it curiously shares with the word black.
Vocabulary lists containing bleach
"Ad Power," "Without Commercials," and "What's Wrong with Advertising"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Unit 6, Week 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
We dyed our hair with food color and bleach and kept it straight with egg whites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
If you keep feeding wild birds, it’s vital to regularly clean all feeding surfaces and equipment using domestic bleach.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
She said the overflowing and soiled bathrooms were so disgusting that she had to use the little money she had on her to purchase bleach and disinfectants for her family.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Residents in Patagonia know how to protect themselves from the virus, which they refer to as "the hanta," by airing out sheds and cleaning areas with bleach.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
Apa grabs the edge of the open door frame, the smell of bleach and Windex from cleaning the lawyers’ offices last night still lingering on his hands.
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
At altitudes less than 1 km in the atmosphere, conditions are relatively warm and humid so smoke particles are often not very viscous and brown carbon bleaches quickly.
From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2022
Explore hands-on activities with the UW community, tour the Burke Museum fish collections, learn why coral bleaches and more at the Students Explore Aquatic Sciences’ open house 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2022
Coral bleaches as a heat-stress response, and scientists hope most of the coral will recover from the current event, said David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the authority, which manages the reef ecosystem.
From Washington Post ● May 11, 2022
Sitting up, I see the stranger standing in front of the building, admiring it below a sun that bleaches them both.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2022
Like Dad, he wears his hair long; sunlight bleaches it blond.
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Romina, the more rebellious of the two, had bleached streaks in her long, dark hair, which she would often leave uncovered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Then I went through another breakup and shaved my head and bleached it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Nicknamed El Fulo – The Blond – for his bleached hair, Martinez has also stood out for his energy and tenacity at this World Cup.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
A study published on Tuesday showed that more than half of the world's coral reefs were bleached between 2014-2017 -- a record-setting episode now being eclipsed by another series of devastating heatwaves.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
The house must’ve been red and white, but the white was peeling and yellowed, and the red had been bleached to a Pepto-Bismol pink.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
Corals are heat sensitive and particularly vulnerable to climate change, which is heating the world's oceans and increasing the frequency and intensity of damaging bleaching events.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
So far, this summer the program has planted 615 coral, with 228 of those part of the thermal bleaching study.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
That includes droughts, floods, infrastructure damage, coral bleaching, wildfires, and agricultural and health effects.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Scientists have already connected them with widespread coral bleaching, large-scale deaths of marine organisms, harmful algal blooms and major disruptions to fisheries and aquaculture.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
“We shouldn’t be bleaching any more palm oil. We should splurge on vegetable oil for these last few weeks,” Obiora said, still swatting at the flies.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
