Bleach - Definitions from Dictionary.com

10 results for: Bleach

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

bleach

–verb (used with object)

1.	to make whiter or lighter in color, as by exposure to sunlight or a chemical agent; remove the color from.

2.	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)

3.	to become whiter or lighter in color.

–noun

4.	a bleaching agent.

5.	degree of paleness achieved in bleaching.

6.	an act of bleaching.

[Origin: bef. 1050; ME blechen, OE blǣcean, deriv. of blāc pale; c. ON bleikja, OHG bleichén

]

—Related forms

bleach·a·ble, adjective

bleach·a·bil·i·ty, noun

—Synonyms 1. See whiten.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Bleach

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bleach Audio Help   (blēch) Pronunciation Key
v.   bleached, bleach·ing, bleach·es

v.   tr.

To remove the color from, as by means of chemical agents or sunlight.
To make white or colorless.

v. intr.
To become white or colorless.

n.

A chemical agent used for bleaching.
1. The act of bleaching.
2. The degree of bleaching obtained.

[Middle English blechen, from Old English blǣcan; see bhel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bleach

O.E. blæcan, from P.Gmc. *blaikos "white," from PIE *bhleg- "to gleam," root of blanche, blank, bleak and probably black. The connection seems to be "burning, blazing, shining, whiteness." That the same root yielded words for "black" and "white" is probably because both are colorless, and perhaps because both are associated with burning. Bleachers (1889, Amer.Eng.) were so-named because the boards were bleached by the sun.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

bleach
noun
1.	the whiteness that results from removing the color from something; "a complete bleach usually requires several applications"
2.	an agent that makes things white or colorless [syn: bleaching agent]
3.	the act of whitening something by bleaching it (exposing it to sunlight or using a chemical bleaching agent)
verb
1.	remove color from; "The sun bleached the red shirt"
2.	make whiter or lighter; "bleach the laundry"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bleach [bliːtʃ] noun

liquid etc used for whitening clothes etc

Arabic:	تَبْييضُ القِماش
Chinese (Simplified):	漂白剂
Chinese (Traditional):	漂白劑
Czech:	bělící roztok
Danish:	blegemiddel
Dutch:	bleekmiddel
Estonian:	valgendi
Finnish:	valkaisuaine
French:	eau de javel
German:	das Bleichmittel
Greek:	λευκαντικό
Hungarian:	fehérítő
Icelandic:	bleikiefni, bleikir
Indonesian:	zat pemutih
Italian:	candeggiante, candeggina

Japanese:	漂白剤
Korean:	표백제
Latvian:	balinātājs
Lithuanian:	baliklis
Norwegian:	blekemiddel
Polish:	wybielacz, bielidło
Portuguese (Brazil):	alvejante
Portuguese (Portugal):	lixívia
Romanian:	înălbitor
Russian:	отбеливающее вещество
Slovak:	bieliaci roztok
Slovenian:	belilo, lug
Spanish:	lejía
Swedish:	blekmedel
Turkish:	beyazlatıcı sıvı, ağartıcı madde, çamaşır suyu

bleach [bliːtʃ] verb

to lose colour; to whiten
Example: The sun has bleached his red shirt; His hair bleached in the sun.

Arabic:	يَبْيَضُّ
Chinese (Simplified):	漂白
Chinese (Traditional):	漂白
Czech:	zbělet, bělit, odbarvit
Danish:	blege
Dutch:	(doen) verbleken
Estonian:	pleegitama; pleekima
Finnish:	haalistaa, vaaleta
French:	(se) décolorer
German:	bleichen
Greek:	ξεθωριάζω, λευκαίνω, αποχρωματίζομαι
Hungarian:	(ki)fehérít
Icelandic:	bleikja, upplita
Indonesian:	memutihkan
Italian:	scolorire

Japanese:	さらして白くする
Latvian:	balināt; izbalot
Lithuanian:	išblukti, išblukinti
Norwegian:	bleke, avfarge
Polish:	blaknąć, bieleć, bielić
Portuguese (Brazil):	desbotar
Portuguese (Portugal):	descorar
Romanian:	a (se) decolora
Russian:	обесцвечивать(ся)
Slovak:	vyblednúť
Slovenian:	obledeti
Spanish:	blanquear, decolorar
Swedish:	bleka, blekna
Turkish:	ağar(t)mak, beyazla(t)mak

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bleach Audio Help (blēch) Pronunciation Key
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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Bleach

Bleach\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bleached; p. pr. & vb. n. Bleaching.] [OE. blakien, blechen, v. t. & v. i., AS. bl[=a]cian, bl?can, to grow pale; akin to Icel. bleikja, Sw. bleka, Dan. blege, D. bleeken, G. bleichen, AS. bl[=a]c pale. See Bleak, a.] To make white, or whiter; to remove the color, or stains, from; to blanch; to whiten.

The destruction of the coloring matters attached to the bodies to be bleached is effected either by the action of the air and light, of chlorine, or of sulphurous acid. --Ure.

Immortal liberty, whose look sublime Hath bleached the tyrant's cheek in every varying clime. --Smollett.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Bleach

Bleach\, v. i. To grow white or lose color; to whiten.

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bleach

bleach: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

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