bleach
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make whiter or lighter in color, such as by exposure to sunlight or a chemical agent; remove the color from.
Do you think she bleaches her hair?
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to cause (coral) to undergo a loss of color that indicates declining health: caused by a loss of the algae that normally live symbiotically in the coral’s tissues.
In sufficient concentrations, the chemicals in certain sunscreens can bleach coral.
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Photography. to convert (the silver image of a negative or print) to a silver halide, either to remove the image or to change its tone.
verb (used without object)
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to become whiter or lighter in color.
The grass in the fields gradually bleached as winter approached, leaving the landscape pale and drab.
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(of coral) to undergo a loss of color that indicates declining health: caused by a loss of the algae that normally live symbiotically in the coral’s tissues.
Coral reefs are bleaching due to ocean pollution and rising sea temperatures.
noun
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a bleaching agent.
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an act of bleaching.
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degree of paleness achieved in bleaching.
verb
noun
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a bleaching agent
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the degree of whiteness resulting from bleaching
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the act of bleaching
Related Words
See whiten.
Other Word Forms
- bleachability noun
- bleachable adjective
- bleacher noun
- half-bleached adjective
- nonbleach noun
- overbleach verb
- rebleach verb
- semibleached adjective
- unbleached adjective
- unbleaching adjective
Etymology
Origin of bleach
First recorded before 1050; Middle English blechen, Old English blǣcean, derivative of blāc “pale”; cognate with Old Norse bleikja, Old High German bleichēn
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2017, they bought a former steel works and an abandoned bleach factory next door for $25 million and started hosting the Mirage in the lot between them.
Jacks has been given the nickname of Slim Shady by some England players during this tournament – a reference to his pre-tournament haircut and bleached blond hair.
From BBC
Retinal cells at the back of the eyes which detect the light can get bleached, and take a while to recover.
From BBC
Daniel added that eventually, he was using the bleaching product all over his body on a daily basis.
From BBC
Now, researchers report that a global marine heatwave caused widespread coral bleaching, damaging roughly half of the world's reefs.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
