# bleed

/ˈbɫid/ (US) · /blˈiːd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bleed
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to lose blood

verb · CEFR B1

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

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

- His nose started to bleed after he accidentally walked into the glass door.
- The surgeon worked quickly to cauterise the vessel, as the patient had begun to bleed profusely during the initial incision.

### 2. to lose money or resources

verb · CEFR B2

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

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

- The small company was bleeding money because of high rent and low sales.
- The subsidiary continued to bleed capital despite the parent company's aggressive attempts to restructure its mounting debt.

### 3. colours spreading

verb · CEFR B2

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

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

- Don't wash that red shirt with white clothes, or the colour might bleed.
- The ink began to bleed through the thin parchment, making the delicate calligraphy on the reverse side nearly impossible to read.

### 4. to remove air from a pipe

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

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

- You might need to bleed the radiators if they aren't getting warm at the top.
- The mechanic had to bleed the brake lines to ensure no air pockets remained to compromise the vehicle's stopping power.

### 5. to take money from someone

verb · CEFR C1 · Informal

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

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

- The dishonest lawyer tried to bleed his clients for every penny they had.
- Blackmailers often attempt to bleed their victims dry by demanding increasingly large payments in exchange for silence.

### 6. printing margin

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

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

- Make sure your background image has a 3mm bleed so there are no white edges.
- The graphic designer failed to account for the bleed, resulting in a thin white sliver along the edge of the finished brochures.

## Examples

- My finger started to bleed after I cut it on the paper.
- If you wash that bright red shirt with white clothes, the color might bleed and ruin them.
- The technician had to bleed the brake lines to ensure no air bubbles remained in the hydraulic system, which would otherwise compromise the vehicle's stopping power.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.