counterstain

[ noun koun-ter-steyn; verb koun-ter-steyn ]

noun
  1. a second stain of a different color applied to a microscopic specimen and used to color and contrast those parts not retaining the first stain.

verb (used with object)
  1. to treat (a microscopic specimen) with a counterstain.

verb (used without object)
  1. to become counterstained; take a counterstain.

Origin of counterstain

1
First recorded in 1890–95; counter- + stain

Words Nearby counterstain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use counterstain in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for counterstain

counterstain

/ (ˈkaʊntəˌsteɪn) /


verbmicroscopy
  1. to apply two or more stains in sequence to (a specimen to be examined), each of which colours a different tissue

  2. (tr; usually passive) to apply (one of a series of stains) to a specimen to be examined: haematoxylin is counterstained with eosin

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