bleach
pronunciation
How to pronounce bleach in British English:
UK [bliːtʃ]
How to pronounce bleach in American English:
US [bliːtʃ]
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- Noun:
- the whiteness that results from removing the color from something
- 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)
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- Verb:
- remove color from
- make whiter or lighter
Word Origin
- bleach (v.)
- Old English blæcan "bleach, whiten," from Proto-Germanic *blaikjan "to make white" (cognates: Old Saxon blek, Old Norse bleikr, Dutch bleek, Old High German bleih, German bleich "pale;" Old Norse bleikja, Dutch bleken, German bleichen "to bleach"), from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (cognates: Sanskrit bhrajate "shines;" Greek phlegein "to burn;" Latin flamma "flame," fulmen "lightning," fulgere "to shine, flash," flagrare "to burn;" Old Church Slavonic belu "white;" Lithuanian balnas "pale"). The same root probably produced black; perhaps because both black and white are colorless, or because both are associated with burning. Compare Old English scimian, related to the source of shine (n.), meaning both "to shine" and "to dim, grow dusky, grow dark." Related: Bleached; bleaching.
- bleach (n.)
- "act of bleaching," 1887; "a bleaching agent," 1898, probably directly from bleach (v.). The Old English noun blæce meant "leprosy;" Late Old English also had blæco "paleness," and Middle English had blech "whitening or bleaching agent."
Example
- 1. You should always use chlorine bleach for white clothes .
- 2. The girl was pictured sitting with her mother reading celebrity magazines as the the bleach took effect .
- 3. Once I bleach my jeans by accident .
- 4. The bleach keeps the water clear .
- 5. Use as a mild bleach for your laundry .