bleed
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈbliːd/
Verb

bleed (bleeds, present participle bleeding; past and past participle bled)

  1. (intransitive, of a person or animal) To lose blood through an injured blood vessel.
    If her nose bleeds, try to use ice.
  2. (transitive) To let or draw blood from.
  3. (transitive) To take large amounts of money from.
  4. (transitive) To steadily lose (something vital).
    The company was bleeding talent.
  5. (intransitive, of an ink or dye) To spread from the intended location and stain the surrounding cloth or paper.
    Ink traps counteract bleeding.
  6. (transitive) To remove air bubbles from a pipe containing other fluids.
  7. (obsolete, transitive) To bleed on; to make bloody.
    • a. 1472, Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book VIII, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, OCLC 71490786 ↗; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: Published by David Nutt, […], 1889, OCLC 890162034 ↗:
      And so Sir Trystrames bledde bothe the over-shete and the neyther-shete, and the pylowes and the hede-shete
  8. (intransitive, copulative) To show one's group loyalty by showing (its associated color) in one's blood.
    He was a devoted Vikings fan: he bled purple.
  9. To lose sap, gum, or juice.
    A tree or a vine bleeds when tapped or wounded.
  10. To issue forth, or drop, like blood from an incision.
    • 1713, Alexander Pope, Windsor Forest:
      For me the balm shall bleed.
  11. (phonology, transitive, of a phonological rule) To destroy the environment where another phonological rule would have applied.
    Labialization bleeds palatalization.
Related terms

Translations Translations
  • Portuguese: sangrar
  • Russian: пусти́ть кровь
  • Spanish: desangrar
Translations Translations Noun

bleed (plural bleeds)

  1. An incident of bleeding, as in haemophilia.
  2. (printing) A narrow edge around a page layout, to be printed but cut off afterwards (added to allow for slight misalignment, especially with pictures that should run to the edge of the finished sheet).
  3. (sound recording) The situation where sound is picked up by a microphone from a source other than that which is intended.
Translations Translations


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