What does "bleach" mean?
A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening.
Bleach
/bliːt͡ʃ/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening.
- Grammar: bleach is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: bleaching agent, achromatization, achromatize, aflaxen.
- Useful contrasts: hued, ingrained, organic color.
- Usage evidence: Mixing ammonia and bleach is dangerous.
How to use "bleach"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bleach" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bleach" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bleach" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bleach" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bleach" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bleaching agent" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bleach", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening. uncountable
- 2 An act of bleaching; exposure to the sun.
- 3 A disease of the skin characterized by hypopigmentation and itching, believed in the 17th century to be a form of leprosy. obsolete
- 4 the act of whitening something by bleaching it (exposing it to sunlight or using a chemical bleaching agent) wordnet
- 5 A variety of bleach. countable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 the whiteness that results from removing the color from something wordnet
- 7 an agent that makes things white or colorless wordnet
Verb
- 1 To treat with bleach, especially so as to whiten (fabric, paper, etc.) or lighten (hair). transitive
"Candifacio, to make whyte, to bleache, to make to glowe lyke a burnyng cole."
- 2 make whiter or lighter wordnet
- 3 To be whitened or lightened (by the sun, for example). intransitive
"The white sheet bleaching on the hedge, With heigh! the sweet birds, O, how they sing!"
- 4 cause to become white or lighter in color wordnet
- 5 To lose color due to stress-induced expulsion of symbiotic unicellular algae. intransitive
"Once coral bleaching begins, corals tend to continue to bleach even if the stressor is removed."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To make meaningless; to divest of meaning; to make empty. figuratively, transitive
"semantically bleached words that have become illocutionary particles"
Adjective
- 1 Pale; bleak. archaic
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Mixing ammonia and bleach is dangerous."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bleach"?
Common synonyms include: bleaching agent, achromatization, achromatize, aflaxen, besnow, blanch.
How do you use "bleach" in a sentence?
Mixing ammonia and bleach is dangerous.
How do you pronounce "bleach"?
Pronounced /bliːt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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).
Etymology 2
From Middle English bleche, from Old English blǣċu, blǣċo (“paleness, pallor”), from Proto-Germanic *blaikį̄ (“paleness”). See Etymology 1 above.
Etymology 3
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.
Etymology 4
From Middle English bleche, from Old English blǣċe (“irritation of the skin, leprosy; psoriasis”).