Definition of BLEACH

bleach

Meanings

Plural: bleaches

Noun

  • the whiteness that results from removing the color from something
    • "a complete bleach usually requires several applications"
  • an agent that makes things white or colorless
  • the act of whitening something by bleaching it (exposing it to sunlight or using a chemical bleaching agent)
  • 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.
  • An act of bleaching; exposure to the sun.
  • A disease of the skin characterized by hypopigmentation and itching, believed in the 17th century to be a form of leprosy.

Verb

  • remove color from
    • "The sun bleached the red shirt"
  • make whiter or lighter
    • "bleach the laundry"
  • To treat with bleach, especially so as to whiten (fabric, paper, etc.) or lighten (hair).
  • To be whitened or lightened (by the sun, for example).
  • To lose color due to stress-induced expulsion of symbiotic unicellular algae.
  • To make meaningless; to divest of meaning; to make empty.

Adj

  • Pale; bleak.

Origin / Etymology

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).

Synonyms

blanch, blanching agent, bleach out, bleaching agent, decolor, decolorise, decolorize, decolour, decolourise, decolourize, discolorise, discolorize, discolourise, whitener

Scrabble Score: 13

bleach is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
bleach is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
bleach is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

bleach is a valid Words With Friends word