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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
The man, who was bleeding heavily from his right leg and other parts of his body, said that he had been jumped on the beach by two people, later identified as Streeter and Cagle, the affidavit alleges. Kc Baker, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024 The 12-year-old suffered a head injury, with bleeding on the brain, CNN affiliate WABC reported. Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
All said and done, the right system will empower companies to prevent asset bleed and loss while safeguarding IP and easing employee offboarding. Brandon Batchelor, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024 Patrick had to be checked for a brain bleed and had a breathing tube put in, but the fact that more time wasn’t needed for CPR was a good thing, said Dr. Amged Abdelaziz, an interventional cardiologist who had been on-call that weekend for the DMC. Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bleed 

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 22 Nov. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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