bleach

American  

[bleech] / blitʃ /

verb (used with object)

bleaches, present (3rd person singular) bleached, past participle, past bleaching present participle

1. 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?

2. 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.

3. 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.

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verb (used without object)

bleaches, present (3rd person singular) bleached, past participle, past bleaching present participle

1. to become whiter or lighter in color.

   The grass in the fields gradually bleached as winter approached, leaving the landscape pale and drab.

2. (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

1. a bleaching agent.

2. an act of bleaching.

3. degree of paleness achieved in bleaching.

bleach British  

/ bliːtʃ /

verb

1. to make or become white or colourless, as by exposure to sunlight, by the action of chemical agents, etc

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noun

1. a bleaching agent

2. the degree of whiteness resulting from bleaching

3. the act of bleaching

bleach Scientific  

/ blēch /

1. A chemical agent used to whiten or remove color from textiles, paper, food, and other substances and materials. Chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, and hydrogen peroxide are bleaches. Bleaches remove color by oxidation or reduction.

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Synonym Usage

See whiten.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bleachability
  noun
• unbleaching
  adjective
• rebleach
  verb
• nonbleach
  noun
• bleacher
  noun
• bleachable
  adjective
• overbleach
  verb
• unbleached
  adjective
• half-bleached
  adjective
• semibleached
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has bleached
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have bleached
  perfect
• have been bleaching
  perfect progressive
• has been bleaching
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are bleaching
  progressive
• bleaches
  singular 3rd person
• is bleaching
  progressive 3rd person singular
• bleaching
  participle
• am bleaching
  progressive 1st person singular

Past

• had bleached
  perfect
• were bleaching
  progressive plural
• had been bleaching
  perfect progressive
• was bleaching
  progressive singular
• bleached
  simple
• bleached
  participle

Future

• will bleach
  simple
• will have bleached
  perfect
• will be bleaching
  progressive
• will have been bleaching
  perfect progressive

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.

Related Words

• lighten