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

Example Sentences

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
Slok is concerned that even more small companies will start to bleed red ink if the economy enters another downturn. Paul R. La Monica, CNN, 26 Jan. 2023 The doctors cut the straw in half, and the tortoise starts to bleed. Hazlitt, 15 Sep. 2022 Medium Saturday is a transition day, hopefully, as drier air should start to bleed into the area. David Streit, Washington Post, 7 July 2022 If Collins can't get that fixed by next year, the message board complaints will start to bleed into administrative intervention sooner rather than later. Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2021 His gums started to bleed and his symptoms mimicked those of British sailors suffering from scurvy. Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 14 Oct. 2021 The baby boy was hit in the lip, which started to bleed. Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 3 May 2021 However, the injury progressively got worse, leading him to bleed out and die. Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 24 Feb. 2023 The third one in particular was a crusher, coming with less than 5:00 to play around midfield after a Clark Phillips III interception of Bo Nix gave the Utes the ball back after Oregon appeared ready to bleed the clock out with a three-point lead. Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 21 Nov. 2022
Noun
Ennis was hospitalized with a massive brain bleed and died two weeks later. USA Today, 22 Nov. 2022 Dustyn Matlock, a Portland police recruit, suffered a brain bleed, a fractured vertebra, an orbital fracture and a broken wrist. oregonlive, 22 July 2021 The 48-year-old woman suffered a brain bleed, broken ribs, black eyes, facial swelling and heavy bruising and cuts over her entire body, said Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson. Michelle Hunter | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 1 Feb. 2021 Above all, the panels move briskly, full of big movement and emotional pacing, including the clever use of full-bleed pages, and storytelling that zooms in and out of modern Egyptian history. Jonathan Guyer, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2023 Think of watching a concert from the front row instead of the nose-bleed section. April Reese, Discover Magazine, 1 Aug. 2014 For example, if the bleed had continued oozing, becoming large enough to push part of her brain out of her skull. Eli Cahan, The New Republic, 17 Jan. 2023 An expensive foray into consumer banking and the subsequent retreat along with spending on technology and integrating operations have contributed to the cost bleed this year. Sridhar Natarajan, Fortune, 29 Dec. 2022 The investigator had concluded that the bleed was related to the drug, but the company pointed to other possible factors. Jen Christensen, CNN, 28 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bleed.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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 24 Mar. 2023.

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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!


Love It or Hate It

  • heart-fire
  • When asked about her blind date, Carol spoke for hours with vitriol.
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY