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.

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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.

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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

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

French reports said that Macron appeared to have a sub-conjunctival hemorrhage, which is a broken blood vessel in his eye.

From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026

Gary Coleman died in May 2010 at age 42 after suffering a brain hemorrhage in an accidental fall at his home in Utah.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026

But had her hemorrhage happened on the day of the hurricane, she may have bled to death.

From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2025

He looks at me in a way that causes a minor cerebral hemorrhage.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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

My left eye suffers hemorrhages that can cause episodes of total blindness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 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

She helps singers dealing with polyps, nodules, hemorrhages, cysts, acid reflux, vocal fold swelling.

From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2024

The patient continued to bleed from the bowels, and these hemorrhages were now as black as pitch.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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

The company has secured prime rights for major leagues and competitions across Europe and beyond, though it has hemorrhaged considerable amounts of cash along the way.

From New York Times ● Dec. 4, 2024

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

The next morning, while the former chef was still in Palm Springs, the filing states that she awoke experiencing severe hemorrhaging and drove herself to the emergency room.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

Waldorf’s sister, Elizabeth Rowe, had almost died of hemorrhaging during childbirth, so the family felt an hourslong drive to Kansas through rural roads without medical support was not an option.

From Salon ● May 27, 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

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