bleach
BLEECH
/bliːtʃ/
A chemical solution used to whiten or disinfect textiles; as a verb, to strip color or whiten.
Chlorine bleach is harsh and strips color completely, whereas oxygen-based bleaches are milder and safe for colored items.
The story behind the word. From Proto-Germanic 'blaikaz' (shining, pale), which gave Old English 'blæcan'. Historically, bleaching was accomplished by soaking cloth in sour milk or lye and laying it out on grassy hills called 'bleachfields' under solar ultraviolet rays.
Word relationships
- whiten: Whiten describes making something white by any means, while bleach explicitly refers to chemical oxidation or sun stripping.
- decolorize: Decolorize is a technical chemical term for removing color, whereas bleach is standard household terminology.
- dye: Dye adds pigment or color to fabric, whereas bleach strips pigment out.
- stain: Stain introduces unwanted color marks onto cloth.
Commonly confused with
- beach: Beach refers to a sandy shoreline, whereas bleach is a whitening chemical agent.
Word family
- bleached (adjective): Whitened or lightened by exposure to chemical bleach or sunlight.
- bleacher (noun): A person or agent that bleaches (or stadium seating, historically unpainted wood).
Collocations
- chlorine bleach
- oxygen bleach
- bleach stain
- bleach whites
Example sentences
- "Add a small splash of oxygen bleach to brighten white cotton sheets during the wash cycle." Stain removal instructions
- "Leaving dark linen hanging in direct sunlight for weeks will gradually bleach its fabric pigments." Sunlight exposure
Memory hook
BLEACH turns dark colors BLEAK and white. Bleach strips color to make whites bright.
When not to use
Do not apply chlorine bleach directly to colored cotton, wool, silk, or spandex unless destruction of color is desired.
Fun facts
- Before modern chemical bleaches were invented in the 18th century, sour buttermilk and sunlight were the world's primary bleaching agents.
Explore more words
disinfect, sanitize, chlorinated, leach, Antiseptic, sterilize
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