Abstract: A gear pump (10) has a pair of intermeshing gears (12,14) located in a corresponding pair of intersecting cavities (16,18) in a housing (20), and air bleed passages (60) are defined in the housing (20) for passing entrained air collected in the fluid at the tooth roots (42) of the gears (12,14) as a result of centrifugal force away from a preselected region (61,62) of each of the gear cavities (16,18). Preferably, a pair of arcuate air bleed passages (64) are formed in the housing (20) and are located in a trailing portion (62) of the preselected region, and a pair of grooves (70) transmit pressure from a discharge opening (48) back to the tooth roots (42) to positively encourage movement of fluid with entrained air toward the arcuate air bleed passages (64).