verb (used without object), bled [bled] /blɛd/, bleed·ing.
- 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.
- (of injured tissue, excrescences, etc.) to exude blood: a wart that is bleeding.
- (of a plant) to exude sap, resin, etc., from a wound.
- (of dye or paint) to run or become diffused: All the colors bled when the dress was washed.
- (of a liquid) to ooze or flow out.
- to feel pity, sorrow, or anguish: My heart bleeds for you. A nation bleeds for its dead heroes.
- to suffer wounds or death, as in battle: The soldiers bled for the cause.
- (of a broadcast signal) to interfere with another signal: CB transmissions bleeding over into walkie-talkies.
- Printing. (of printed matter) to run off the edges of a page, either by design or through mutilation caused by too close trimming.
- Slang. to pay out money, as when overcharged or threatened with extortion.
- Metallurgy. (of a cooling ingot or casting) to have molten metal force its way through the solidified exterior because of internal gas pressure.
verb (used with object), bled [bled] /blɛd/, bleed·ing.
- to cause to lose blood, especially surgically: Doctors no longer bleed their patients to reduce fever.
- to lose or emit (blood or sap).
- to drain or draw sap, water, electricity, etc., from (something): to bleed a pipeline of excess air.
- to remove trapped air from (as an automotive brake system) by opening a bleeder valve.
- to obtain an excessive amount from; extort money from.
- Printing.
- to permit (printed illustrations or ornamentation) to run off the page or sheet.
- to trim the margin of (a book or sheet) so closely as to mutilate the text or illustration.
noun
- Printing.
- a sheet or page margin trimmed so as to mutilate the text or illustration.
- a part thus trimmed off.
- Medicine/Medical. an instance of bleeding; hemorrhage: an intracranial bleed.
adjective
- Printing. characterized by bleeding: a bleed page.
Verb Phrases
- bleed off, to draw or extract: to bleed off sap from a maple tree; to bleed off static electricity.
- bleed white. white(def 41).
verb bleeds, bleeding or bled
- (intr) to lose or emit blood
- (tr) to remove or draw blood from (a person or animal)
- (intr) to be injured or die, as for a cause or one’s country
- (of plants) to exude (sap or resin), esp from a cut
- (tr) informal to obtain relatively large amounts of money, goods, etc, esp by extortion
- (tr) to draw liquid or gas from (a container or enclosed system)to bleed the hydraulic brakes
- (intr) (of dye or paint) to run or become mixed, as when wet
- to print or be printed so that text, illustrations, etc, run off the trimmed page
- (tr) to trim (the edges of a printed sheet) so closely as to cut off some of the printed matter
- (intr) civil engineering building trades (of a mixture) to exude (a liquid) during compaction, such as water from cement
- bleed someone or something dry to extort gradually all the resources of a person or thing
- one’s heart bleeds used to express sympathetic grief, but often used ironically
noun
- printing
- an illustration or sheet trimmed so that some matter is bled
- (as modifier)a bleed page
- printing the trimmings of a sheet that has been bled
Old English bledan “to let blood,” in Middle English and after, “to let blood from surgically;” also “to emit blood,” from Proto-Germanic *blodjan “emit blood” (cf. Old Norse blæða, German bluten), from *bhlo-to- “swell, gush, spurt” (see blood (n.)). Meaning “extort money from” is from 1670s. Of dyes or paints, from 1862. Related: Bled; bleeding.
v.
- To lose blood as a result of rupture or severance of blood vessels.
- To take or remove blood from.
In addition to the idiom beginning with bleed
- bleed someone white
also see:
- my heart bleeds for you