hemorrhage

1 of 2

noun

hem·​or·​rhage ˈhe-mə-rij 

ˈhem-rij

1

medical : a copious or heavy discharge of blood from the blood vessels

a cerebral hemorrhage

postpartum hemorrhage

stop the hemorrhage

2

: a rapid and uncontrollable loss or outflow

a financial hemorrhage

hemorrhagic

ˌhe-mə-ˈra-jik 

adjective

hemorrhage

2 of 2

verb

hemorrhaged; hemorrhaging

intransitive verb

: to undergo heavy or uncontrollable bleeding

began to hemorrhage after the surgery

transitive verb

: to lose rapidly and uncontrollably

The company is hemorrhaging money.

Did you know?

A hemorrhage usually results from either a severe blow to the body or from medication being taken for something else. Though many hemorrhages aren't particularly serious, those that occur in the brain (cerebral hemorrhages) can be life-threatening. In older people, hemorrhages are often caused by blood-thinning medication taken to prevent heart attacks. A bruise (or hematoma) is a hemorrhage close enough to the surface of the skin to be visible. Hemorrhage is also a verb, which isn't always used to talk about actual blood; thus, we may hear that a business is hemorrhaging money, or that the U.S. has been hemorrhaging industrial jobs for decades. Be careful when writing hemorrhage; it's not an easy word to spell.

Examples of hemorrhage in a Sentence

Noun

The patient suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.

There is a possibility of hemorrhage with the procedure.

Verb

The patient began to hemorrhage after the surgery.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Levy said that his patient is suffering from a brain hemorrhage, is in a coma, on a ventilator and has heart failure. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 1 Jan. 2025

While most miscarriages resolve on their own, some lead to dangerous complications, including hemorrhage and infection. —Kavitha Surana, ProPublica, 19 Dec. 2024

Verb

The news, which was first reported in the Status newsletter, comes as the beleaguered newspaper has hemorrhaged several high-profile journalists in recent weeks and top candidates pulled out of the running for the Post’s executive editor job. —Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2025

United States businesses are silently hemorrhaging trillions of dollars through a surprisingly basic shortcoming: our inability to effectively solve recurring human and organizational performance problems. —Rob De La Espriella, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Latin haemorrhagia, from Greek haimorrhagia, from haimo- hem- + -rrhagia

First Known Use

Noun

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1928, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

hemorrhage

1 of 2 noun

hem·​or·​rhage ˈhem-(ə-)rij 

: a great loss of blood from the blood vessels especially when caused by injury

hemorrhagic

ˌhem-ə-ˈraj-ik 

adjective

hemorrhage

2 of 2 verb

hemorrhaged; hemorrhaging

: to bleed heavily or uncontrollably

Medical Definition

hemorrhage

1 of 2 noun

hem·​or·​rhage

variants or chiefly British haemorrhage

ˈhem-(ə-)rij 

: a copious discharge of blood from the blood vessels

hemorrhagic adjective

or chiefly British haemorrhagic

ˌhem-ə-ˈraj-ik 

hemorrhage

2 of 2 intransitive verb

variants or chiefly British haemorrhage

hemorrhaged; hemorrhaging

: to undergo heavy or uncontrollable bleeding