Dictionary

bleacher en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈbliː.t͡ʃəː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• [ˈblɪi̯.t͡ʃɚ] ~ [ˈblɪi̯.t͡ʃɹ̩] (Canadian, General-American, Standard)
• [ˈblɪi̯.t͡ʃəː] (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈbli.t͡ʃɚ/ (Canadian, General-American, Standard)

Etymology

From Middle English blechere, equivalent to bleach + -er. Compare Dutch bleker, Swedish blekare. The seating was so named because the boards were bleached by the sun.

Meanings

1. One who, or that which, bleaches.
2. (US, plural-normally) A stand of tiered planks used as seating for spectators, often outdoors.
   • Warnings such as "watch your step" can be provided when there is a small step off a bleacher to the pavement or ground level. 1999, Jim Puhalla, Jeff Krans, Mike Goatley, Sports Fields: A Manual for Design, Construction and Maintenance - Page 371:
   • It seemed silly for the crowd to applaud or groan over what you had already felt in your fingers or even in your arms as you braced to shoot or for that matter in your eyes: when he was hot he could see the separate threads wound into the strings looping the hoop. Yet at the start of the game when you came out for warm-up and could see all the town clunkers sitting in the back of the bleachers elbowing each other and the cheerleaders wisecracking with the racier male teachers, the crowd then seemed right inside you, your liver and lungs and stomach. 1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 34:
   • We prefer bleacher seats to Grandstand Sections 1-9. And in truth, quite a few bleacher seats offer a better view of the action than the Right Field Boxes do. Bleacher seats are made of comfortable plastic, […] 2004, Josh Pahigian, Kevin O'Connell, The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip:
   • There could be a rough crowd out in the bleachers.
3. (US, broadly, plural-normally) The tiered seating provided for the audience at a television filming.
   • In practice, audience members often have badly obstructed views of the sets—whether due to obstructive camera dollies and production personnel or viewers sitting in the bleachers off to the side of the set that is currently being used. 2010, Jeremy G. Butler, Television Style:

Forms

Deriveds

bleacherlike · bleacherite · bleachered

Relateds

bleachery

Synonyms

stand · terrace

Translations (26)

es lunetario (seating for spectators) · fr gradin (seating for spectators) · cs hlediště (seating for spectators) · es graderío (seating for spectators) · es palco (seating for spectators) · sv blekare (one who bleaches) · sv läktare (seating for spectators) · pt arquibancada (seating for spectators) · nl tribune (seating for spectators) · cs tribuna (seating for spectators) · no tribuner (seating for spectators) · de Zuschauerbänke (seating for spectators) · pl trybuna (seating for spectators) · it gradinate (seating for spectators) · fr place de tribune non-couverte (seating for spectators) · ru трибу́ны (seating for spectators) · ca graderies (seating for spectators) · es gradas (seating for spectators) · de Sitzreihen (seating for spectators) · es platea (seating for spectators) · cmn 露天看台 (seating for spectators) · es gradería (seating for spectators) · es patio de butacas (seating for spectators) · es blanqueador (one who bleaches) · de Sitztribüne (seating for spectators) · hu fedetlen lelátó (seating for spectators)