bleach
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
-
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
-
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:
To that end, these cargos are as intentional and well-lived as a perfectly executed skate trick: they’re hand-dyed, but also arrive bearing natural bleach, oil and scuff marks.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 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
He became known for his love of hygiene, which won him work promoting bleach.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
“They’re getting that good California sun and are all bleach blonde,” said Jessica West, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
I was forced to wait in the back of an ambulance with a towel that smelled like bleach around me as a team pulled their car out of the river.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
“When someone has the yeast infection on their skin, the skin often bleaches temporarily.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2024
If your husband won’t take this responsibility, if instead he dumps the anxiety on you, then that’s what needs attention — not the specifics of who bleaches the house.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2022
Coral bleaches as a response to heat stress and scientists hope most of the coral will recover from the latest event.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 28, 2022
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
Denner resin slowly bleaches your teeth, so if a sweet- eater lives long enough for their teeth to grow fully white, chances are they have already sold everything they have worth selling.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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
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 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
One pendant evokes the sea with its swirl of mother-of-pearl, spiral seashells and rivulets of pale gray leather arranged above a piece of bleached coral.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2025
Long hours indoors in front of a computer screen had bleached the glow from his skin.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Nolasco said a taper is the favorite haircut these days and there’s also players bleaching their hair blond for the playoffs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
"The average sea temperature for the last few years is the same as what it was at the peak of the 1998 global bleaching event," said Oakley.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
The problem is repeated mass bleaching, which has become the norm with rising sea temperatures caused by climate change.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
Many common whitening products rely on peroxide-based bleaching found in strips, gels, and mouth rinses.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 23, 2026
Deciding that the moonlight must be bleaching it, Celaena shielded the spot with her hand.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Definitions 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.
