bleed

UK: /ˈbliːd/ US: /blid/ ,(blēd)

Inflections of 'bleed' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

bleeds

v 3rd person singular

bleeding

v pres p

bled

v past

bled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bleed /blid/   v., bled (bled), bleed•ing. 

1. Pathology to lose or discharge blood: [no object]
   almost bled to death.
   [~ + object]
   He bled at least five pints of blood.
2. to take or draw blood from:
   [~ + object] In the old days, people were bled to cure them of disease.
3. Building, Hydraulics to drain or draw sap, water, etc., from: [~ (+ off) + object]
   We bled (off) the car radiator by opening a valve.
   [~ + object (+ off)]
   We bled the car radiator (off).
4. Textiles [no object] to run together, as colors or dyes:
   The colors bled when the dress was washed in hot water.
5. Automotive, Building to remove trapped air from, as by opening a valve:
   [~ + object] to bleed the brakes.
6. [no object] to feel pity or anguish:
   My heart bleeds for you.
7. to take too much money from (as if by blackmail):
   [~ + object] Those car repair dealers were bleeding us with their high prices.

Idioms

8. bleed dry, [~ + object + dry] to use up or take away all money, resources, etc., as through excessive demands:
   bled us dry with all her demands.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bleed  (blēd), v., bled (bled), bleed•ing, n., adj. 
v.i. 

1. Pathology to lose blood from the vascular system, either internally into the body or externally through a natural orifice or break in the skin:
   to bleed from the mouth.
2. Pathology (of injured tissue, excrescences, etc.) to exude blood:
   a wart that is bleeding.
3. Botany (of a plant) to exude sap, resin, etc., from a wound.
4. Fine Art, Textiles (of dye or paint) to run or become diffused:
   All the colors bled when the dress was washed.
5. (of a liquid) to ooze or flow out.
6. to feel pity, sorrow, or anguish:
   My heart bleeds for you. A nation bleeds for its dead heroes.
7. to suffer wounds or death, as in battle:
   The soldiers bled for the cause.
8. Radio and Television (of a broadcast signal) to interfere with another signal:
   CB transmissions bleeding over into walkie-talkies.
9. Printing (of printed matter) to run off the edges of a page, either by design or through mutilation caused by too close trimming.
10. Slang Terms to pay out money, as when overcharged or threatened with extortion.
11. Metallurgy (of a cooling ingot or casting) to have molten metal force its way through the solidified exterior because of internal gas pressure.

v.t. 

12. Pathology to cause to lose blood, esp. surgically:
    Doctors no longer bleed their patients to reduce fever.
13. to lose or emit (blood or sap).
14. Building, Hydraulics to drain or draw sap, water, electricity, etc., from (something):
    to bleed a pipeline of excess air.
15. Automotive, Building to remove trapped air from (as an automotive brake system) by opening a bleeder valve.
16. to obtain an excessive amount from;
    extort money from.
17. [Print.]
    • Printing to permit (printed illustrations or ornamentation) to run off the page or sheet.
    • Printing to trim the margin of (a book or sheet) so closely as to mutilate the text or illustration.
18. bleed off, to draw or extract:
    to bleed off sap from a maple tree; to bleed off static electricity.
19. Idioms bleed white. See white (def. 19).

n. 

20. [Print.]
    • Printing a sheet or page margin trimmed so as to mutilate the text or illustration.
    • Printing a part thus trimmed off.
21. Medicine an instance of bleeding;
    hemorrhage:
    an intracranial bleed.

adj. 

22. Printing characterized by bleeding:
    a bleed page.

• Middle English bleden, Old English blēdan, derivative of blōd blood bef. 1000

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bleed / bliːd/ verb (bleeds, bleeding, bled)

1. (intransitive) to lose or emit blood
2. (transitive) to remove or draw blood from (a person or animal)
3. (intransitive) to be injured or die, as for a cause or one's country
4. (of plants) to exude (sap or resin), esp from a cut
5. (transitive) to obtain relatively large amounts of money, goods, etc, esp by extortion
6. (transitive) to draw liquid or gas from (a container or enclosed system): to bleed the hydraulic brakes
7. (intransitive) (of dye or paint) to run or become mixed, as when wet
8. to print or be printed so that text, illustrations, etc, run off the trimmed page
9. one's heart bleeds ⇒ used to express sympathetic grief, but often used ironically

Etymology: Old English blēdan; see blood