Meaning & use
bleaching
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Meanings
noununcountable
The process of making something white or much lighter in color by using chemicals or sunlight.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun: 'Bleaching is common.' Do not say 'a bleaching'.
Patterns
- bleaching of something
- bleaching process
- bleaching agent
The bleaching of paper uses strong chemicals.
Sunlight causes the bleaching of many fabrics.
The dentist explained that bleaching can make teeth sensitive.
noununcountabletechnical
The loss of color from coral reefs or plants, often because of heat or pollution.
Grammar: Common in environmental contexts, often with 'coral' or 'reef'.
Patterns
- coral bleaching
- reef bleaching
- mass bleaching
Warm ocean water led to widespread coral bleaching.
Scientists recorded severe bleaching on the reef last summer.
Repeated bleaching can kill entire coral colonies.
verbtransitive or intransitive
Present participle of 'bleach': making something white or lighter, or becoming white.
Grammar: As a verb form it can take an object ('bleaching clothes') or stand alone ('the towels are bleaching in the sun').
Patterns
- be bleaching something
- something is bleaching
She is bleaching the curtains to remove the stains.
The old photographs are bleaching in the window.
They were bleaching their hair for the party.
Word forms
| base form | bleach |
|---|---|
| third person singular | bleaches |
| past tense | bleached |
| past participle | bleached |
| -ing form | bleaching |
Common combinations
- coral bleaching
- Coral bleaching is a sign of warming seas.
- bleaching agent
- This bleaching agent is too strong for delicate fabrics.
- hair bleaching
- Hair bleaching can damage the scalp.
- bleaching powder
- The cleaner mixed bleaching powder with water.
Synonyms and how they differ
- whitening
- Whitening often refers to making something white, especially teeth or paint, while bleaching usually involves chemicals or sunlight and can suggest damage.
- lightening
- Lightening means making something less dark, often hair or skin; bleaching is stronger and implies a chemical process.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bleaching or bleaching vs. bleaching powder?
bleaching vs bleaching vs. bleaching powder
Bleaching is the process; bleaching powder is the substance. Don't use them interchangeably.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bleaching' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 uses 'bleaching' as an uncountable noun for a process. Option 1 is wrong because the substance is 'bleach', not 'bleaching'. Option 2 repeats the word incorrectly. Option 3 uses a plural verb with an uncountable noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bleaching”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.