Hemorrhage means severe, uncontrolled bleeding, either inside or outside the body. When doctors say someone is hemorrhaging, they mean blood is flowing heavily and dangerously, requiring immediate medical attention because losing too much blood can be life-threatening.

A hemorrhage happens when blood escapes from damaged blood vessels faster than the body can repair them. A person might hemorrhage from a serious injury, during surgery, or because of certain medical conditions. Internal hemorrhages, where bleeding happens inside the body, are particularly dangerous because you can't see them happening.

People also use hemorrhage figuratively to describe any rapid, uncontrolled loss. A business hemorrhaging money is losing it so quickly that the company might fail. A team hemorrhaging players means athletes keep leaving faster than they can be replaced. In both cases, the word emphasizes the serious, uncontrolled nature of the loss, something that needs to stop quickly before real damage occurs.