ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bleed

v. · n.
US //ˈbɫid// UK //blˈiːd// bleed
Irregular verb past bled past participle bled
  1. 1 to lose blood (v.)
    B1 Intermediate Medicine

    to lose blood from your body because of a cut or injury.

    to emit or lose blood from the vascular system through a wound or medical condition.

    Example

    His nose started to bleed after he accidentally walked into the glass door.

    Example

    The surgeon worked quickly to cauterise the vessel, as the patient had begun to bleed profusely during the initial incision.
  2. 2 to lose money or resources (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Finance

    to lose a lot of money or something important over a long time.

    to lose money, assets, or vital resources steadily and in large quantities.

    Example

    The small company was bleeding money because of high rent and low sales.

    Example

    The subsidiary continued to bleed capital despite the parent company's aggressive attempts to restructure its mounting debt.
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  1. 3 colours spreading (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    when ink or paint spreads into the area around it and makes a mess.

    to spread from the intended area into an adjacent surface, causing staining or blurred edges.

    Example

    Don't wash that red shirt with white clothes, or the colour might bleed.

    Example

    The ink began to bleed through the thin parchment, making the delicate calligraphy on the reverse side nearly impossible to read.
  2. 4 to remove air from a pipe (v.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Technical

    to let air or liquid out of a pipe or machine so it works correctly.

    to drain or allow to escape a fluid or gas from a closed system, typically to remove air bubbles.

    Example

    You might need to bleed the radiators if they aren't getting warm at the top.

    Example

    The mechanic had to bleed the brake lines to ensure no air pockets remained to compromise the vehicle's stopping power.
  3. 5 to take money from someone (v.)
    C1 Advanced Informal

    to take as much money as possible from someone, often in an unfair way.

    to extort or extract large sums of money from a person or organisation over a period of time.

    Example

    The dishonest lawyer tried to bleed his clients for every penny they had.

    Example

    Blackmailers often attempt to bleed their victims dry by demanding increasingly large payments in exchange for silence.
  4. 6 printing margin (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Technical

    the part of a printed picture that goes off the edge of the page.

    the area of a printed sheet that is trimmed off after printing to ensure images extend to the very edge.

    Example

    Make sure your background image has a 3mm bleed so there are no white edges.

    Example

    The graphic designer failed to account for the bleed, resulting in a thin white sliver along the edge of the finished brochures.
Origin

From Middle English bleden, from Old English blēdan (“to bleed”), from Proto-West Germanic blōdijan, from Proto-Germanic blōþijaną (“to bleed”), from *blōþą (“blood”). Cognates Cognate with Scots blede, bleid (“to bleed”), Saterland Frisian bläide (“to bleed”), West Frisian bliede (“to bleed”), Dutch bloeden (“to bleed”), Low German blöden (“to bleed”), German bluten (“to bleed”), Danish bløde (“to bleed”), Swedish blöda (“to bleed”).

Idioms1 entry

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