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 of bleach

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

Corals – which have been severely bleached along the entire Tanzanian coastline, and largely wiped out around Zanzibar – are being replanted, to try to grow new populations. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026

There have also been concerns over toilet paper that is bleached, as bleaching can create dioxins, and concerns over toilet paper that includes formaldehyde, a carcinogen. — Jillian Pretzel, Time, 26 Aug. 2026

Noun

Never use harsh cleaners and acids like bleach, lemon, or vinegar on hardwood. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2026

Juxtaposing her bleach blond bedhead, Anderson kept her faded brown brows pencil thin (think super skinny ’90s brows), framing her eyes like an arch and embellishing her naked lids. — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026

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