v. & n.
v. (past and past part. bled) 1 intr. emit blood. 2 tr. draw blood from surgically. 3 a tr. extort money from. b intr. part with money lavishly; suffer extortion. 4 intr. (often foll. by for) suffer wounds or violent death (bled for the Revolution). 5 intr. a (of a plant) emit sap. b (of dye) come out in water. 6 tr. a allow (fluid or gas) to escape from a closed system through a valve etc. b treat (such a system) in this way. 7 Printing a intr. (of a printed area) be cut into when pages are trimmed. b tr. cut into the printed area of when trimming. c tr. extend (an illustration) to the cut edge of a page.
n. an act of bleeding (cf. NOSEBLEED). one's heart bleeds usu. iron. one is very sorrowful.
[ OE bledan f. Gmc ]