stain
a discoloration produced by foreign matter having penetrated into or chemically reacted with a material; a spot not easily removed.
a natural spot or patch of color different from that of the basic color, as on the body of an animal.
a cause of reproach; stigma; blemish: a stain on one's reputation.
coloration produced by a dye that penetrates a substance, as wood.
a dye made into a solution for coloring woods, textiles, etc.
a reagent or dye used in treating a specimen for microscopic examination.
to discolor with spots or streaks of foreign matter.
to bring reproach or dishonor upon; blemish.
to sully with guilt or infamy; corrupt.
to color or dye (wood, cloth, etc.) by any of various processes that change or react with the substance chemically.
to color with something that penetrates the substance.
to treat (a microscopic specimen) with some reagent or dye in order to color the whole or parts and so give distinctness, contrast of tissues, etc.
to produce a stain.
to become stained; take a stain: This fabric stains easily.
Origin of stain
1Other words for stain
Other words from stain
- stain·a·ble, adjective
- stain·a·bil·i·ty, stain·a·ble·ness, noun
- stain·a·bly, adverb
- stainer, noun
- de·stain·er, noun
- non·stain·a·ble, adjective
- non·stain·er, noun
- non·stain·ing, adjective
- re·stain, verb
- un·der·stain, noun
- un·der·stain, verb (used with object)
- well-stained, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use stain in a sentence
It may be that some hagiographer yet to come will find the stained sheets of fact and memory amid his papers.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe carpet is stained from the door to the window with red wine.
I Watched a Casino Kill Itself: The Awful Last Nights of Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal | Olivia Nuzzi | December 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“[M]any a headband was soon stained red,” noted a TIME cover story from 1964.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis | Nina Strochlic | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe freed hostages streamed into the airport, their white polo shirts and pleated dresses stained with blood.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis | Nina Strochlic | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe cars had plush green upholstery and stained-glass windows and were faster and cheaper than a horse-and-buggy.
The differential count is best made upon a film stained with Wright's, Jenner's, or Ehrlich's stain.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddIn the tear-stained story of humanity there has never been aught to surpass the thrilling record of Cawnpore.
The Red Year | Louis TracyNuclei and certain other structures in the blood are stained by the basic dyes, and are hence called basophilic.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddCertain other structures are stained only by combinations of the two, and are called neutrophilic.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddWhen well stained, a delicate hyaline peripheral zone can be distinguished.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
British Dictionary definitions for stain
/ (steɪn) /
to mark or discolour with patches of something that dirties: the dress was stained with coffee
to dye with a penetrating dyestuff or pigment
to bring disgrace or shame on: to stain someone's honour
to colour (specimens) for microscopic study by treatment with a dye or similar reagent
(intr) to produce indelible marks or discoloration: does ink stain?
a spot, mark, or discoloration
a moral taint; blemish or slur
a dye or similar reagent, used to colour specimens for microscopic study
a solution or liquid used to penetrate the surface of a material, esp wood, and impart a rich colour without covering up the surface or grain
any dye that is made into a solution and used to colour textiles and hides
Origin of stain
1Derived forms of stain
- stainable, adjective
- stainability, noun
- stainer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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