bleed

1 of 2

verb

ˈblēd 

bled ˈbled  ; bleeding

intransitive verb

1

a

: to emit or lose blood

b

: to sacrifice one's blood especially in battle

2

: to feel anguish, pain, or sympathy

a heart that bleeds at a friend's misfortune

3

a

: to escape by oozing or flowing (as from a wound)

b

: to spread into or through something gradually : seep

foreign policy bleeds into economic policy

—J. B. Judis

4

: to give up some constituent (such as sap or dye) by exuding or diffusing it

5

a

: to pay out or give money

b

: to have money extorted

6

: to be printed so as to run off one or more edges of the page after trimming

transitive verb

1

: to remove or draw blood from

2

: to get or extort money from especially over a prolonged period

3

: to draw sap from (a tree)

4

a

: to extract or let out some or all of a contained substance from

bleed a brake line

b

: to extract or cause to escape from a container

c

: to diminish gradually

—usually used with off

a pilot bleeding off airspeed

d

: to lose rapidly and uncontrollably

the company was bleeding money

e

: sap

cost overruns … bleed other programs

—Alex Roland

5

: to cause (something, such as a printed illustration) to bleed

bleed

2 of 2

noun

1

: printed matter (such as an illustration) that bleeds

also : the part of a bleed trimmed off

2

: the escape of blood from vessels : hemorrhage

Phrases

bleed white

: to drain of blood or resources

Synonyms

Verb

• grieve
• mourn
• ache
• suffer

Examples of bleed in a Sentence

Verb

She was bleeding from the face and hands.

Doctors used to bleed their patients in an effort to cure them.

We bled air from the tank.

You'll need to bleed the car's brake lines.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

UnitedHealth’s earnings keep beating expectations, yet the stock keeps bleeding. —Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2025

The 55-year-old northern Michigan man could hear his grandchildren crying in the background as their mother lay bleeding on the floor of a Walmart near Traverse City, where 10 others shared his daughter’s fate. —John Wisely, Freep.com, 3 Aug. 2025

Noun

Brain Bleed Protection and Cognitive Benefits The final study, conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, extended the investigation to brain hemorrhages—both spontaneous bleeds and those caused by aneurysms. —Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025

In one case, a correctional officer sustained a brain bleed and facial fractures. —Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 4 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English bleden, from Old English blēdan, from blōd blood

First Known Use

Verb

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

Noun

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing bleed

• bleed (someone/something) dry
• bleed to death
• milk/bleed/suck (someone or something) dry

Rhymes for bleed

• bead
• brede
• breed
• cede
• creed
• deed
• feed
• freed
• greed
• heed
• keyed
• knead

Kids Definition

bleed

verb

ˈblēd

bled

ˈbled

; bleeding

1

: to lose or shed blood

2

: to be wounded

bleed for one's country

3

: to feel pain or deep sympathy

my heart bleeds for them

4

: to ooze or flow from a cut surface

5

a

: to draw liquid or air from

bleed a carburetor

b

: to run when wetted

dyes that bleed

6

: to get or force money from

Medical Definition

bleed

1 of 2 verb

ˈblēd 

bled ˈbled  ; bleeding

intransitive verb

1

: to emit or lose blood

hemophiliacs often bleed severely from the slightest scratch

2

: to escape by oozing or flowing (as from a wound)

transitive verb

: to remove or draw blood from

bleed

2 of 2 noun

: the escape of blood from vessels : hemorrhage

a massive gastrointestinal bleed