A nosebleed is when blood flows from the inside of your nose, usually because tiny blood vessels in your nostrils have broken. These delicate vessels sit close to the surface and can burst from dry air, picking your nose, getting hit in the face, or even just blowing your nose too hard. Most nosebleeds look more dramatic than they actually are: a little blood mixed with mucus can seem like a lot, but they usually stop on their own within a few minutes.

When you get a nosebleed, you might sit up straight, lean slightly forward (not backward, which can cause blood to drip down your throat), and pinch the soft part of your nose for several minutes. Despite what many people think, tilting your head back can make things worse.

The word also describes something located in a very high place. Nosebleed seats at a concert or sports stadium are so high up that you might joke about getting an actual nosebleed from the altitude. If your family sits in the nosebleed section at a baseball game, you're way up at the top of the stadium, where the players look tiny but tickets cost less. People use this meaning with humor: “We had nosebleed seats, but we could still see everything!”