Bleed — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun /ˈblēd/

Meaning & Definition of Bleed

Bleed (verb)

  1. to emit or lose blood
  2. to sacrifice one's blood especially in battle
  3. to feel anguish, pain, or sympathy

Bleed (noun)

  1. printed matter (such as an illustration) that bleeds; also, the part of a bleed trimmed off
  2. the escape of blood from vessels, hemorrhage

Bleed (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to feel deep sadness or mental pain

    "her heart bleeds for the homeless people she sees on her way to work"

    similar: agonize, anguish, grieve, hurt, mourn, sorrow, suffer, eat one's heart out, tear one's hair
    related: ache, long (for), pine (away), sigh, smart, rack, torment, torture, bemoan, bewail, deplore, lament, rue, bawl, blubber, cry, groan, howl, keen, moan, sob, take on, wail, weep, yammer, yowl, languish, regret
    near: beam, cheer, crow, delight, exult, glory, joy, laugh, ravish, rejoice, triumph, assure, comfort, commiserate, console, reassure, solace, soothe, sympathize

  2. to flow forth slowly through small openings

    "pitch was bleeding from cuts in the tree bark"

    similar: exude, ooze, percolate, seep, strain, sweat, transude, weep
    related: dribble, drip, trickle, discharge, emit, give off, vent, emanate, flow, spring
    near: flood, gush, pour, stream, surge

  3. to remove (liquid) gradually or completely

    "bleed water from the radiators"

    similar: draft, drain, draw (off), pump, siphon, tap
    related: milk, suck, clear, empty, evacuate, exhaust, vacate, vacuate, void, decant, effuse, deplete, clean, flush, purge
    opposite: fill
    near: bathe, douse, drench, soak, souse, wash, water, wet, deluge, drown, flood, inundate, overflow, submerge, swamp

  4. to rob by the use of trickery or threats

    "the confidence men coldheartedly bled the elderly couple of their life savings"

    similar: beat, bilk, cheat, chisel, chouse, con, cozen, defraud, diddle, do, do in, euchre, fiddle, fleece, flimflam, gaff, hose (slang), hustle, mulct, nobble (British slang), pluck, ream, rip off, rook, screw, shake down, short, shortchange, skin, skunk, squeeze, stick, stiff, sting, sucker, swindle, thimblerig, victimize, sell a bill of goods to, take for a ride, take to the cleaners
    related: extort, wrench, wrest, wring, clip, gouge, nick, overcharge, soak, exploit, milk, deceive, dupe, fool, gull, trick, rope (in), betray, bitch, double-cross, bamboozle, fast-talk

Related Entry: Bleed (for) (verb)

Bleed (for) is a different word from Bleed. The synonyms below are for bleed (for), not for bleed.

  1. to have sympathy for

    "the young man bleeds for his friend, who just lost his father"

    similar: ache (for), commiserate (with), compassionate, condole (with), feel (for), pity, sympathize (with), yearn (over)
    related: care (for), grieve (for), sorrow (for), love, empathize (with), identify (with), tolerate, understand
    near: disregard, ignore, neglect, overlook, dislike, hate, scorn

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Bleed

The most common words with a similar meaning to Bleed:

Slang: hose
British slang: nobble
agonize, anguish, grieve, hurt, mourn, sorrow, suffer, exude, ooze, percolate, seep, strain, sweat, transude, weep, draft, drain, draw (off), pump, siphon, tap, beat, bilk, cheat, chisel, chouse, con, cozen, defraud, diddle, do, do in, euchre, fiddle, fleece, flimflam, gaff, hustle, mulct, pluck

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Bleed

Words with the opposite meaning of Bleed:

fill

Related Words for Bleed

ache, long (for), pine (away), sigh, smart, rack, torment, torture, bemoan, bewail, deplore, lament, rue, bawl, blubber, cry, groan, howl, keen, moan, sob, take on, wail, yammer, yowl, languish, regret, dribble, drip, trickle

Near Antonyms of Bleed

beam, cheer, crow, delight, exult, glory, joy, laugh, ravish, rejoice, triumph, assure, comfort, commiserate, console, reassure, solace, soothe, sympathize, flood, gush, pour, stream, surge, bathe, douse, drench, soak, souse, wash

Word Forms of Bleed

Inflections: bled, bleeding

Origin & Etymology of Bleed

Middle English bleden, from Old English blēdan, from blōd blood

First known use: before 12th centuryi

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Bleed

Words & Phrases Containing Bleed

bleed white, bleed (someone/something) dry, bleed to death, milk/bleed/suck (someone or something) dry, one's heart bleeds for

Frequently Asked Questions about Bleed

What does "Bleed" mean?

"Bleed" means to emit or lose blood. As an a verb and a noun, it is defined as: to emit or lose blood. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Bleed"?

Other words for "Bleed" include agonize, anguish, grieve, hurt, mourn, sorrow, suffer and exude. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Bleed" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Bleed"?

There are 137 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Bleed". Common alternatives include agonize, anguish, grieve, hurt, mourn, sorrow, suffer, exude, ooze and percolate.

What is the opposite of "Bleed"?

Antonyms of "Bleed" include fill. Near antonyms include beam, cheer, crow and delight.

How do you use "Bleed" in a sentence?

Examples of "Bleed" in a sentence: "her heart bleeds for the homeless people she sees on her way to work"; "pitch was bleeding from cuts in the tree bark"; "bleed water from the radiators".

Is "Bleed" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Bleed" can be used as a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Bleed" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a C1-level word, "Bleed" is typical of Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE), IELTS band 7.0–8.0, TOEFL iBT 95–113, PTE Academic 76–84, TOEIC Listening & Reading 945+. Advanced words like this are also useful for the GRE, SAT, GMAT, and LSAT.

How do you pronounce "Bleed"?

"Bleed" is pronounced /ˈblēd/.