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 photo was too sun-bleached to discern much else, but there was an e-mail address and a WhatsApp number to contact if anyone found her. —Catherine Lacey, New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2025

If possible, hang-drying towels in the sun can help naturally bleach and brighten them, thanks to the sun’s UV rays. —Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025

Noun

Just be sure to use dish soap without bleach, oils, or moisturizers that could end up doing more harm than good to your floors. —Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 7 Oct. 2025

Following the media coverage, Davis said she's started smelling bleach or chlorine coming from her taps, yet the discoloration continues as the town flushes hydrants. —Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 6 Oct. 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