stain
Americannoun
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stains
plural
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a discoloration produced by foreign matter having penetrated into or chemically reacted with a material; a spot not easily removed.
- Synonyms:
- blot, imperfection, mark
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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.
- Synonyms:
- taint, blot, imperfection, mark
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coloration produced by a dye that penetrates a substance, as wood.
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a dye made into a solution for coloring woods, textiles, etc.
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a reagent or dye used in treating a specimen for microscopic examination.
verb (used with object)
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stains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stained,
past participle, past
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staining
present participle
-
to discolor with spots or streaks of foreign matter.
-
to bring reproach or dishonor upon; blemish.
-
to sully with guilt or infamy; corrupt.
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to color or dye (wood, cloth, etc.) by any of various processes that change or react with the substance chemically.
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to color with something that penetrates the substance.
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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.
verb (used without object)
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stains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stained,
past participle, past
-
staining
present participle
-
to produce a stain.
-
to become stained; take a stain.
This fabric stains easily.
verb
-
to mark or discolour with patches of something that dirties
the dress was stained with coffee
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to dye with a penetrating dyestuff or pigment
-
to bring disgrace or shame on
to stain someone's honour
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to colour (specimens) for microscopic study by treatment with a dye or similar reagent
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(intr) to produce indelible marks or discoloration
does ink stain?
noun
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a spot, mark, or discoloration
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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
Usage
What else does stain mean? In general, a stain is something that leaves a mark. In youth slang, a stain is a "worthless person." In Black American slang, stain is a gang culture expression for "armed robbery."
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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destainernoun
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nonstainernoun
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stainabilitynoun
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stainablenessnoun
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stainernoun
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understainnoun
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restainverb
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understainverb (used with object)
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nonstainableadjective
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nonstainingadjective
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stainableadjective
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well-stainedadjective
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stainablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stainsimple
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stainssimple
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have stainedperfect
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has stainedperfect
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am stainingprogressive
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are stainingprogressive
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is stainingprogressive
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have been stainingperfect progressive
-
has been stainingperfect progressive
Past
-
stainedsimple
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had stainedperfect
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was stainingprogressive
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were stainingprogressive
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had been stainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stain
1350–1400; Middle English steynen < Old Norse steina to paint; in some senses aphetic form of distain
Explanation
A stain is a mark or discoloration, and to stain something is to mark it with dirt or color it, either deliberately or accidentally. If you stain your sister's favorite sweatshirt, she might be mad at you—especially if you didn't ask before borrowing it. You can stain your favorite white pants when you're eating strawberries, or stain the table top you're making by painting it with a tinted liquid. The resulting stain in both cases is visible. Another kind of stain is a figurative mark or blemish, like the stain on your school records from that difficult semester when you never did your homework. Stain comes, via the Middle English disteynen, or "discolor," from the Latin tingere, "to color or dye."
Vocabulary lists containing stain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"It added insult to injury. I couldn't understand how an organisation that wants to protect the environment, can graffiti the earth and stain rocks which are millions of years old."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Off the entry and through an archway, the architectural heart of the century-old home soars upward: the living room’s open-beam, 25-foot ceiling with its original deep teal stain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Platner being able choose his successor would stain that successor with Platner’s problems for the rest of the campaign!
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Former England and Manchester United star Gary Neville said FIFA's decision represented "a stain" on the World Cup.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
If the carpet covers the stain entirely, we know that the stain is smaller than the carpet; if the carpet is one square foot, then the stain must take up less than one square foot.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
The end of the Great Depression was just 25 years in our rearview mirror, but the stains were still easily seen throughout rural Kentucky.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
Resting in the sports hall in Villamanta, Margarita, 70, pointed to the stains on her T-shirt -- the same one she had been wearing for four days.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
“That will likely be one of the stains of his life that will always be remembered.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
There are plenty of everyday gadgets too, from vacuum cleaners that can clear stains in seconds to shiny espresso machines and hair curlers.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
Mornings, on our way to school, we hopped over curdled puddles of vomit and fetid urine stains on the dirt.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
Eric especially admired the Witch’s House in Beverly Hills, the Shakespeare Bridge in Franklin Hills and the stained glass windows in Carthay Circle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
In late 1914, an unknown hand reassembled fragments of stained and painted glass into a composite image.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
George Mallory is remembered with a stained glass window at St Wilfred's Church in Mobberley.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Their wings deserve a close inspection, as the translucent curved fixtures are inspired by stained glass windows.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Lily is surprisingly cute and, apart from the stained shirt and sticky hands, not that dirty.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
She said Greenpeace had painted over rocks and soil, staining them.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
It doesn’t come on a school-issued bun, nor does it come with the staining might of tomato sauce and ground beef.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
No doubt she tried in some cases, staining the Justice Department in the process.
From Slate ● Apr. 4, 2026
And Blackwell can easily spend weeks meticulously cutting, staining and arranging small geometric tiles into a 24-by-40-inch wall art piece.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
The girl dropped to kneel, unworried about the water staining her cotton trousers.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
