First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
1bleed
verb \ˈblēd\
: to lose or release blood because of a cut, injury, etc.
: to remove blood from (a person) as part of a medical procedure that was done in past times
: to remove air or liquid from something
bled \ˈbled\ bleed·ing
Full Definition of BLEED
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 (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 (as a printed illustration) to bleed
— bleed white
: to drain of blood or resources
See bleed defined for English-language learners
See bleed defined for kids
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Origin of BLEED
Middle English bleden, from Old English blēdan, from blōd blood
2bleed
noun
Definition of BLEED
1
: printed matter (as an illustration) that bleeds; also : the part of a bleed trimmed off
2
: the escape of blood from vessels : hemorrhage
First Known Use of BLEED
circa 1937
BLEED Defined for Kids
bleed
verb \ˈblēd\
bled \ˈbled\bleed·ing
Definition of BLEED for Kids
1
: to lose or shed blood <A cut finger bleeds.>
2
: to feel pain or pity <My heart bleeds for the victims of the fire.>
3
: to draw a liquid or gas from <bleed a tire>
4
: to spread into something else <colors bleeding>
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