bleed

Etymology

From Middle English bleden, from Old English blēdan (“to bleed”), from Proto-West Germanic *blōdijan, from Proto-Germanic *blōþijaną (“to bleed”), from *blōþą (“blood”). Cognates Cognate with Scots blede, bleid (“to bleed”), Saterland Frisian bläide (“to bleed”), West Frisian bliede (“to bleed”), Dutch bloeden (“to bleed”), Low German blöden (“to bleed”), German bluten (“to bleed”), Danish bløde (“to bleed”), Swedish blöda (“to bleed”).

verb

1. (intransitive, of a person, animal or body part) To lose blood through an injured blood vessel.
   If her nose bleeds, try to use ice.
2. (transitive) To let or draw blood from.
   "What did they die of?" I asked. "Fevers. The doctor came and bled them and purged them, but they still died." "He bled and purged babies?" "They were two and three. He said it would break the fever. And it did. But they ... they died anyway." 1979, Octavia Butler, Kindred
3. (transitive) To take large amounts of money from.
4. (transitive) To steadily lose (something vital).
   The company was bleeding talent.
5. (intransitive, of an ink or dye) To spread from the intended location and stain the surrounding cloth or paper.
   Ink traps counteract bleeding.
6. (transitive) To remove air bubbles from a pipe containing other fluids.
7. (transitive) To tap off high-pressure gas (usually air) from a system that produces high-pressure gas primarily for another purpose.
   At low engine speeds, valves open to bleed some of the highly-compressed air from the later compressor stages, helping to prevent engine surging.
   High-pressure air bled from the APU is used to spin up the engines and run the APU generator and hydraulic pump, and can also be used to pressurise the cabin if necessary.
8. (obsolete, transitive) To bleed on; to make bloody.
9. (intransitive, copulative, figurative) To show one's group loyalty by showing (its associated color) in one's blood.
   He was a devoted Vikings fan: he bled purple.
10. To lose sap, gum, or juice.
    A tree or a vine bleeds when tapped or wounded.
11. To issue forth, or drop, like blood from an incision.
12. (phonology, transitive, of a phonological rule) To destroy the environment where another phonological rule would have applied.
    Labialization bleeds palatalization.
13. (publishing, advertising, transitive, intransitive) To (cause to) extend to the edge of the page, without leaving any margin.
    Full-page and double-page colour advertisements in the Sunday colour magazines usually bleed off the page' (or are 'bled to the margin'), […] 1998, Macmillan Dictionary of Marketing and Advertising, page 35
    Too, bleeding beyond margins provides editors with several picas of space for more layout. 2004, Dorothy A. Bowles, Diane L. Borden, Creative Editing, page 361
14. (finance, intransitive) To lose money.
    Most of the sectors are bleeding, particularly the resources sector.

noun

1. An incident of bleeding, as in haemophilia.
2. (aviation, usually in the plural) A system for tapping hot, high-pressure air from a gas turbine engine for purposes such as cabin pressurization and airframe anti-icing.
   When taking off at high altitude or at near-maximum weight, the bleeds have to be turned off temporarily, as they decrease engine power somewhat.
3. (printing) A narrow edge around a page layout, to be printed but cut off afterwards (added to allow for slight misalignment, especially with pictures that should run to the edge of the finished sheet).
4. (sound recording) The situation where sound is picked up by a microphone from a source other than that which is intended.
5. The removal of air bubbles from a pipe containing other fluids.
6. (uncountable, roleplaying games) The phenomenon of in-character feelings affecting a player's feelings or actions outside of the game.