# bleach

> English word · Noun · IPA /bliːt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #14,704

## Definitions
1. A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening.
2. A variety of bleach.

## Etymology
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).

## Easily confused with
- **bleh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleach-vs-bleh)
- **bleak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleach-vs-bleak)
- **Bloch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleach-vs-bloch)
- **breath** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleach-vs-breath)
- **breach** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleach-vs-breach)
- **breech** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleach-vs-breech)
- **broach** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleach-vs-broach)
- **bleached** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleach-vs-bleached)
- **bleacher** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bleach-vs-bleacher)
- **blah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blah-vs-bleach)
- **bach** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bach-vs-bleach)
- **black** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/black-vs-bleach)
- **beach** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-bleach)
- **bench** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bench-vs-bleach)
- **beech** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beech-vs-bleach)

## Common misspellings (9)
`bbleach`, `belach`, `blaech`, `bleacch`, `bleachh`, `bleahc`, `blecah`, `blleach`, `lbeach`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bleach