bleed

bleedverb

1. lose bloodlose blood from an injury

   intransitive [I] verb + adverb or preposition [V + adv/prep]

   • The cut on his hand was bleeding badly.
   • Her knee was bleeding after the fall.
   • Press down on the wound to stop it from bleeding.
   • He was bleeding from a cut above his eye. V + adv/prep

   Collocations

   verb + adverb bleed badly, bleed heavily

   phrase stop bleeding, start bleeding

2. of color(of color) spread into the part next to it when wet

   intransitive [I] verb + preposition + object [V + prep + obj]

   • Wash the red shirt alone, or the color might bleed onto your other clothes. V + prep + obj
   • The ink bled through the thin paper. V + prep + obj

   Collocations

   noun + verb the color bleeds, the ink bleeds, the dye bleeds

   Synonyms run (run is the more usual word for this in everyday speech)

See also blood