bleed

1 of 2

verb

bled ˈbled How to pronounce bleed (audio) ; 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 policyJ. 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 programsAlex 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

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
In a blood desert, what are normally highly treatable conditions — trauma, sickle cell anemia or postpartum bleeding — often become deadly. Simar Bajaj, NPR, 11 Apr. 2024 Excessive supplementation of vitamin E can increase bleeding risk. Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 10 Apr. 2024 Mifepristone stops the production of progesterone, while misoprostol, which was originally indicated to treat ulcers, causes contractions and bleeding similar to a miscarriage. Carmen Valeria Escobar, WIRED, 3 Apr. 2024 This is a stark difference from LED lighting arrays for LCD panels, which always bleed some form of light to parts of the panel that should be unlit. PCMAG, 1 Apr. 2024 Shortly after McNeal was fired, a Brookdale caregiver discovered Walker bleeding on the floor of her room. Christopher Rowland, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024 After several years of bleeding red ink, Elliott, a specialist in fixing distressed businesses, managed to get Milan back on track, culminating in the 2022 championship. Paolo Confino, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2024 Spray with the nozzle pointed out toward the ears to get the greatest benefit and to avoid side effects like nose bleeds. Nina Agrawal, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2024 But in terms of earnings, the app appears to be bleeding cash. Michael Kan, PCMAG, 1 Apr. 2024
Noun
After helping the survivors of a car accident, the revered neurosurgeon is hit by a semi-truck, taken to a hospital that does not give him a proper scan to catch his brain bleed, and later succumbs to his injuries. TIME, 14 Mar. 2024 According to the charging documents, two of Hudson’s children remained hospitalized in intensive care with severe injuries, including brain bleeds and broken bones, as of Friday. USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2024 The trick is to adjusting the level of bleed for everyone at the table. Rob Wieland, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 He was rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency surgery for a brain bleed, police said. Olivia Lloyd, Charlotte Observer, 7 Mar. 2024 After suffering a brain bleed from the incident, Ella was placed on life support and died on Sept. 20, the Times reports. Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 4 Oct. 2023 Hemostatic gauze has clotting technology designed to slow blood flow, while a tourniquet is the most standard form of slowing a bleed. Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 26 Feb. 2024 The comedian was taken to Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn last Friday after the accident and underwent neurological surgery to remove a piece of his skull and relieve pressure from a brain bleed, according to the GoFundMe post. Ali Lerman, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023 Hough went on to thank the medical team and Dr. Mai, the physician who performed this week's surgery, as well as an operation earlier this month to address the 29-year-old's brain bleed. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bleed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of bleed was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near bleed

Cite this Entry

“Bleed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bleed. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

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
bled ˈbled How to pronounce bleed (audio) ; 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

More from Merriam-Webster on bleed

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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