Meaning
In dancehall culture, to stay up all night — usually partying until dawn. Separately, it also means to lighten the skin with creams, a widespread and much-debated practice.
Senses
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verb To stay awake all night, especially partying until morning.
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Wi bleach till mawnin a di dance.
We stayed up all night at the party.
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Mi cyaa bleach again tonight.
I can't stay up all night again tonight.
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verb To lighten the skin using bleaching creams.
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Nuff people a bleach dem skin.
A lot of people are lightening their skin.
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Bleaching mash up di skin.
Skin bleaching damages the skin.
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Origin
From English 'bleach' (to whiten). The 'stay up all night' sense is a dancehall extension — being out under the lights until the sky itself 'bleaches' at dawn.
How it’s used
Context separates the two senses cleanly. Skin bleaching is a socially charged topic in Jamaica.