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

• bleaches
  plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bleaches
  plural

Participles

• bleaching
  present
• bleached
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bleach
  simple
• bleaches
  simple
• have bleached
  perfect
• has bleached
  perfect
• am bleaching
  progressive
• are bleaching
  progressive
• is bleaching
  progressive
• have been bleaching
  perfect progressive
• has been bleaching
  perfect progressive

Past

• bleached
  simple
• had bleached
  perfect
• was bleaching
  progressive
• were bleaching
  progressive
• had been bleaching
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bleach bleaches bleached bleaching

Unlike bleach and wipes, a product made of buttermilk and mayo is not exactly designed for mass consumption.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

People have been urged to stay away from a flooded quarry where the water has a pH level "comparable to bleach", following a surge in visitors over the bank holiday weekend.

From BBC ● May 28, 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

Investigators also found broken glass scattered through the home, a shattered microwave, and bleach wipes and spray bottles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026

Each a threat to the other and I remember the time I spilled bleach on a blue towel, dotting it forever.

From "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson

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

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

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 Seattle Times ● May 10, 2022

At the end, the audiences from both parts returned to the bleaches for a bleak look at that ravishment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2020

It lightens the polish to a bright vomit green and bleaches the carpet surrounding it.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Returning to Sausalito, the team passed bleached whale bones on an Angel Island beach, a grim reminder of what they were up against.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

Unless ocean temperatures return to more tolerable levels, bleached corals are unable to recover and eventually die of starvation.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

The cover art is based on the famous Mick Hudson photo, taken at Glastonbury festival in 1995, of Robbie with bleached blonde hair and a missing tooth.

From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026

“You promised you’d be nice,” the Bride teases when he makes fun of her groom’s bleached hair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025

He was the sort of man who invariably went hatless, his hair was bleached from the sun of the last days and his skin was deeply tanned.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

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

Wildfires, floods, melting ice caps, heat waves, the bleaching of ocean reefs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

The last global mass bleaching event was declared in 2024.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

Periodic, localised bleaching is a natural and even healthy process for reefs.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

The lights in the office grew brighter and brighter, bleaching out the memory.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Related Words

• lighten