bleach

1 of 2

verb

ˈblēch 

bleached; bleaching; bleaches

transitive verb

1

: to remove color or stains from

2

a

: to make whiter or lighter especially by physical or chemical removal of color

bleach clothing

the sun had bleached her hair

b

: to remove, make dull, or sanitize as if by removing color

bleaches colonialism of its genocidal legacy

—H. A. Giroux

intransitive verb

1

: to grow white or lose color

2

of coral : to expel symbiotic zooxanthellae exposing a white skeleton

bleachable

ˈblē-chə-bəl 

adjective

bleach

2 of 2

noun

1

: the act or process of bleaching

2

: a preparation used in bleaching

3

: the degree of whiteness obtained by bleaching

Synonyms

Verb

• fade
• brighten
• decolorize
• dull
• whiten

Examples of bleach in a Sentence

Verb

bones bleached white by the sun

She bleached her hair blonde.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Amazon rainforest could wither into a savanna; coral reefs could bleach ghost-white; a major current in the Atlantic Ocean might go slack and fail to deliver warmth to Europe, turning Scotland into Siberia. —Gregory Barber, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025

The coral, now bleached, is alive, but slowly starving. —Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025

Noun

Ensure good ventilation if using bleach or strong chemicals. —Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 16 Sep. 2025

The pompadour eventually found its way into the fashion muse’s beauty aesthetic, as did micro bangs, bleach-blond highlights, bowl cuts and bobs. —Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 12 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English blechen, going back to Old English blǣcan, going back to Germanic *blaikjan- (whence also Middle Dutch bleken "to bleach, whiten," Old High German bleichen "to make pale," Old Icelandic bleikja "to bleach"), weak verb derivative of *blaik- "bright" (whence Old English blāc "bright, shining, pale," Old Saxon blēk, Middle Dutch bleec, Old High German bleih, Old Icelandic bleikr), going back to dialectal Indo-European *b^hlei̯ǵ-, whence also Old Church Slavic blĭštati sę, bliscati sę "to sparkle, glitter," bliskŭ "flash (of lightning)," Lithuanian blỹksti "to become white or pale," bliskė́ti, bliškė́ti "to shine, sparkle"

Note: See also note at black entry 1.

Noun

derivative of bleach entry 1.

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bleach

• beach
• beech
• breach
• breech
• each
• keech
• leach
• leech
• meech
• peach
• preach
• reach

Kids Definition

bleach

1 of 2 verb

ˈblēch 

1

: to remove color or stains from

2

: to make whiter or lighter

3

: to grow white : lose color

bleach

2 of 2 noun

1

: the act or process of bleaching

2

: a chemical used in bleaching