bleed
to lose blood from the vascular system, either internally into the body or externally through a natural orifice or break in the skin:to bleed from the mouth.
(of injured tissue, excrescences, etc.) to exude blood: a wart that is bleeding.
(of a plant) to exude sap, resin, etc., from a wound.
(of dye or paint) to run or become diffused: All the colors bled when the dress was washed.
(of a liquid) to ooze or flow out.
to feel pity, sorrow, or anguish: My heart bleeds for you. A nation bleeds for its dead heroes.
to suffer wounds or death, as in battle: The soldiers bled for the cause.
(of a broadcast signal) to interfere with another signal: CB transmissions bleeding over into walkie-talkies.
Printing. (of printed matter) to run off the edges of a page, either by design or through mutilation caused by too close trimming.
Slang. to pay out money, as when overcharged or threatened with extortion.
Metallurgy. (of a cooling ingot or casting) to have molten metal force its way through the solidified exterior because of internal gas pressure.
to cause to lose blood, especially surgically: Doctors no longer bleed their patients to reduce fever.
to lose or emit (blood or sap).
to drain or draw sap, water, electricity, etc., from (something): to bleed a pipeline of excess air.
to remove trapped air from (as an automotive brake system) by opening a bleeder valve.
to obtain an excessive amount from; extort money from.
Printing.
to permit (printed illustrations or ornamentation) to run off the page or sheet.
to trim the margin of (a book or sheet) so closely as to mutilate the text or illustration.
Printing.
a sheet or page margin trimmed so as to mutilate the text or illustration.
a part thus trimmed off.
Medicine/Medical. an instance of bleeding; hemorrhage: an intracranial bleed.
Printing. characterized by bleeding: a bleed page.
bleed off, to draw or extract: to bleed off sap from a maple tree; to bleed off static electricity.
Idioms about bleed
bleed white. white (def. 42).
Origin of bleed
1Other words from bleed
- outbleed, verb (used with object), out·bled, out·bleed·ing.
- un·bled, adjective
Words that may be confused with bleed
- bled , bleed , blood
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use bleed in a sentence
This conversation often bleeds easily into a “the more the merrier” logic followed by some joke about polygamy.
Your heart bleeds for a 12-year-old who sulks after discovering the cruel realities of humanity.
Why 'The Giver' Movie Will Disappoint the Book's Fans | Kevin Fallon | August 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMost Americans may not realize that the news they consume is driven in part by the media mantra, “if it bleeds, it leads.”
Why the US-Africa Summit Was Important and Why It Wasn't Enough | John Prendergast | August 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTRecently, we discussed the devastating long-term effects of concussions, but brain bleeds are dangerous in a very different way.
Brain Bleed: Why Michael Schumacher’s Helmet Wasn’t Enough | Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad | January 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe lamb stands upon an altar and bleeds into a chalice—the Holy Grail.
Hitler’s Hunt for the Holy Grail and the Ghent Altarpiece | Noah Charney | December 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The vociferous tones pierce my ears, and my heart bleeds at his meaningless declamation.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander BerkmanI shall be hard as steel in my duty, but my heart bleeds to be unable to relieve the unfortunate.
My Ten Years' Imprisonment | Silvio PellicoI know how the lip smiles and the heart bleeds, although the anguish within does not drown the gay words upon the tongue.
Alone | Marion HarlandDry is the epidermis,A vein no longer bleeds— And the communis vermisUpon the warrior feeds.
The Book of Humorous Verse | VariousSee, The sunset bleeds among the roofs; comes night, Dark blue and calm as music dying out.
The Burning Wheel | Aldous Huxley
British Dictionary definitions for bleed
/ (bliːd) /
(intr) to lose or emit blood
(tr) to remove or draw blood from (a person or animal)
(intr) to be injured or die, as for a cause or one's country
(of plants) to exude (sap or resin), esp from a cut
(tr) informal to obtain relatively large amounts of money, goods, etc, esp by extortion
(tr) to draw liquid or gas from (a container or enclosed system): to bleed the hydraulic brakes
(intr) (of dye or paint) to run or become mixed, as when wet
to print or be printed so that text, illustrations, etc, run off the trimmed page
(tr) to trim (the edges of a printed sheet) so closely as to cut off some of the printed matter
(intr) civil engineering building trades (of a mixture) to exude (a liquid) during compaction, such as water from cement
bleed someone or something dry to extort gradually all the resources of a person or thing
one's heart bleeds used to express sympathetic grief, but often used ironically
printing
an illustration or sheet trimmed so that some matter is bled
(as modifier): a bleed page
printing the trimmings of a sheet that has been bled
Origin of bleed
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with bleed
In addition to the idiom beginning with bleed
- bleed someone white
also see:
- my heart bleeds for you
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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