Bleach Meaning
/bliːt͡ʃ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening.
nounA variety of bleach.
Sentence Examples
Mixing ammonia and bleach is dangerous.
I used too much bleach and made a hole in my shirt.
You can bleach and dye your hair at home.
CEFR Practice Quiz
To remove the stubborn stain, I decided to ____ the white shirt with a special solution.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She used some ____ to remove the stubborn stains from the white shirt.
Word Origin & History
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).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Candifacio, to make whyte, to bleache, to make to glowe lyke a burnyng cole."
— 1538, Thomas Elyot, The Dictionary of Syr Thomas Eliot Knyght, London: Thomas Berthelet:
"The destruction of the colouring matters attached to the bodies to be bleached is effected either by the action of the air and light, of chlorine, or of sulphurous acid."
— 1830, Andrew Ure, “BLEACHING”, in A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines, London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, page 128:
"The white sheet bleaching on the hedge,
With heigh! the sweet birds, O, how they sing!"
— c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
"[…] when Mrs. Giddy-gaddy came to take out her clothes, deep green stains appeared on every thing, for she had forgotten the green silk lining of a certain cape, and its color had soaked nicely into the pink and blue gowns, the little chemises, and even the best ruffled petticoat. […] “Lay them on the grass to bleach,” said Daisy, with an air of experience."
— 1871, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, chapter 15, in Little Men: […], Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC:
"The autumn trees, ravaged as they are, take on the flash of tattered flags kindling in the gloom of cool cathedral caves where gold letters on marble pages describe death in battle and how bones bleach and burn far away in Indian sands."
— 1927, Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse, London: The Hogarth Press, published 1920, Part 2, p. 198:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To remove the stubborn stain, I decided to ____ the white shirt with a special solution.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She used some ____ to remove the stubborn stains from the white shirt.