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
Words Nearby stain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use stain in a sentence
I’ve also found that it resists stains and cleans up easily, which is a major plus for road trips and winter camping.
Plus, the sudsing left stains on my lenses from the water I couldn’t shake off.
The best ways to stop a mask from fogging up your glasses, ranked | Sandra Gutierrez G. | November 18, 2020 | Popular-ScienceSoil stains hint that there may have been such structures inside and that people were living there, she said.
Former Jesuit plantation may hold quarters of the enslaved | Michael Ruane | November 9, 2020 | Washington PostYou wrote that it “left a stain on their reputations, their department and the country.”
Q&A with ‘Anonymous’: Miles Taylor on his secret, why he didn’t resign and more | Philip Rucker, Carol D. Leonnig | October 30, 2020 | Washington PostThey can sop up moisture and help tackle stains on other surfaces, including rugs and carpets.
As mentioned, Yahoo has a black stain on its collaboration and severe breach of privacy.
We ask our celebrities to pour their hearts out, and then chastise them if they stain our buttoned-up shirts.
Welcome to Generation Overshare: Lena Dunham, Taylor Swift, and the Politics of Self-Disclosure | Marlow Stern | November 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhile that is unlikely to happen, the very fact that it can is a stain on the American judicial system.
10-Year-Old Murder Defendant Shows Failure of U.S. Juvenile Justice System | Christopher Moraff | October 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAbout “developers in bed with reviewers,” and the stain this leaves on the “integrity of games journalism.”
It's Dangerous to Go Alone: Why Are Gamers So Angry? | Arthur Chu | August 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI put my hands behind my head, lay back and looked at a water stain on the ceiling.
Beginners must be warned against mistaking the edges of cells, or particles which have retained the red stain, for bacilli.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThere are a number of bacilli, called acid-fast bacilli, which stain in the same way as the tubercle bacillus.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddLouis pressed his father's hand to his lips; that hand which was hardly washed from the stain of Wharton's blood!
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterThere was still visible on it the stain where he had wiped his hand, and this stain seemed certainly blood.
Uncanny Tales | VariousHe did not think of the matter again till just as he was getting into bed, when he noticed a red stain upon his handkerchief.
Uncanny Tales | Various
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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