to bleed dry
1
7.3
- phrasal verb
- /blid draɪ/
- Informal
:
exprimir
- If there isn't a broad-based movement to take this country back from its corrupt elites, the gap between rich and poor in this country will continue to expand, and eventually the middle class will be bled dry.
Examples
-
Two years into a war with Britain, and the treasury has been bled dry because of her.
-
Then I heard people saying the family's bled dry from all the hospital bills.
-
Our job in this scheme of things is to be well-behaved consumers, narrowly focused on trivia while we are bled dry.
Blog text (34) -
The rising costs of living have bled dry many families, leaving them with little to spare.
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After years of excessive taxation, the citizens felt their finances had been bled dry by the government.
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With mounting bills and no income, she realized her savings had been completely bled dry.
Synonyms
189
3.4
To slowly use up energy, money, or other resources
18
7.7
To take money repeatedly from someone in an unfair way
2
4.6
To use up the money or help someone needs
1
4.8
Make someone feel very weak and tired
Use all your energy in a final effort until you have none left
To slowly take away energy and interest from people
Antonyms
How Depleted
- Informal
1
7.3
68
3.7
69
2.7
42
2.7
55
4.3
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines a metaphorical use of 'bleed' (to drain/take away) with 'dry' (completely empty), so a learner who knows the literal senses can plausibly infer 'drain someone of resources' by analogy. However, the required metaphorical extension of 'bleed' and the idiomatic sense of complete depletion mean the meaning is not fully predictable without some exposure.
Etymology
Bleed dry gives a strong picture: imagine someone or an animal losing all their blood — the words bleed and dry show there is nothing left. So, 'bleed dry' means to take all of a person's money or resources until nothing is left.