/ bliːd; NAmE / verb ( bled , bled / bled; NAmE /)
1.
[ v ] to lose blood, especially from a wound or an injury :
My finger's bleeding.
She slowly bled to death .
He was bleeding from a gash on his head.
2.
[ vn ] (in the past) to take blood from sb as a way of treating disease
3.
[ vn ] bleed sb (for sth) ( informal ) to force sb to pay a lot of money over a period of time :
My ex-wife is bleeding me for every penny I have.
4.
[ vn ] to remove air or liquid from sth so that it works correctly
5.
[ v ] to spread from one area of sth to another area :
Keep the paint fairly dry so that the colours don't bleed into each other.
•
IDIOMS
- bleed sb dry
—more at heart
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English blēdan , of Germanic origin; related to blood .