bleach
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bleach¹
- /blit͡ʃ/ US
- /bliːt͡ʃ/ UK
Rhymes with -iːtʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English blechen, from Old English blǣċan (“to bleach, whiten”), from Proto-West Germanic *blaikijan, from Proto-Germanic *blaikijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shine”).
Cognate with Dutch bleken (“to bleach”), German bleichen (“to bleach”), Danish blege, Swedish bleka (“to bleach”). Related to Old English blāc (“pale”) (English blake; compare also bleak).
noun bleaches
- A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening.
- A variety of bleach.
verb bleaches · bleaching · bleached
-
To treat with bleach, especially so as to whiten (fabric, paper, etc.) or lighten (hair).
Candifacio, to make whyte, to bleache, to make to glowe lyke a burnyng cole.
Similar: whitewash
- To be whitened or lightened (by the sun, for example). The white sheet bleaching on the hedge, With heigh! the sweet birds, O, how they sing!
- To lose color due to stress-induced expulsion of symbiotic unicellular algae. Once coral bleaching begins, corals tend to continue to bleach even if the stressor is removed.
- To make meaningless; to divest of meaning; to make empty. semantically bleached words that have become illocutionary particles
Similar: blanch
bleach²
- /blit͡ʃ/ US
- /bliːt͡ʃ/ UK
Rhymes with -iːtʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English bleche, from Old English blǣċu, blǣċo (“paleness, pallor”), from Proto-Germanic *blaikį̄ (“paleness”). See Etymology 1 above.
noun bleaches
- An act of bleaching; exposure to the sun.
bleach³
- /blit͡ʃ/ US
- /bliːt͡ʃ/ UK
Rhymes with -iːtʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English bleche (also bleke), from Old English blǣċ, blǣc, variants of blāc (“bright, shining, glittering”), from Proto-West Germanic *blaik, from Proto-Germanic *blaikaz (“pale, shining”). More at bleak.
adjective bleacher · more bleach · bleachest · most bleach
- Pale; bleak.
bleach⁴
- /blit͡ʃ/ US
- /bliːt͡ʃ/ UK
Rhymes with -iːtʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English bleche, from Old English blǣċe (“irritation of the skin, leprosy; psoriasis”).
noun bleaches
- A disease of the skin characterized by hypopigmentation and itching, believed in the 17th century to be a form of leprosy.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: decolor, decolorize, bleaching agent, whitener, blanching agent, bleach out, discolorize, etiolate, breach, disinfectant, detergent, launder, laundering, whitening, whiten, whitewash
verb
Similar: blanch
Translations
Every language
noun chemical
| Español | lejía, lavandina, blanqueador, cloro, recuelo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 표백제 pyobaekje |
| 日本語 | 漂白剤 hyōhaku-zai |
| 中文 | 漂白劑 /漂白剂 piǎobáijì |
| Português | lixívia, descorante, alvejante, água sanitária, descolorante |
| Français | eau de Javel, javel |
| Deutsch | Bleiche, Bleichmittel |
| Italiano | varechina, candeggina, decolorante, sbiancante |
| Ελληνικά | λευκαντικό lefkantikó, χλωρίνη chloríni |
| Русский | бели́льная и́звесть belílʹnaja ízvestʹ, бели́льный раство́р belílʹnyj rastvór, отбе́ливатель otbélivatelʹ, белизна́ belizná |
| العربية | مَادَّة تَبْيِيض mādda tabyīḍ |
| עברית | אקונומיקה ekonómika, מלבין malbín |
verb to treat with bleach
| Español | blanquear, curar, decolorar, oxigenar, descolorar, aclarar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 바래다 baraeda |
| 日本語 | 漂白する hyōhaku suru |
| 中文 | 漂白 piǎobái |
| Português | branquear, descolorir, oxigenar, alvejar |
| Français | blanchir |
| Deutsch | bleichen |
| Italiano | sbiancare, candeggiare, imbiancare, decolorare |
| Ελληνικά | λευκαίνω lefkaíno |
| Русский | бели́ть belítʹ, отбе́ливать otbélivatʹ, отбели́ть otbelítʹ |
| العربية | بَيَّضَ bayyaḍa |
| עברית | הלבין hilbín |
Talk about this word "bleach." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bleach. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bleach. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bleach "bleach." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bleach.Cite this
@misc{bleach_2026,
title = {bleach},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bleach},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
