blood

[ bluhd ]
See synonyms for blood on Thesaurus.com
noun

  1. the fluid that circulates in the principal vascular system of human beings and other vertebrates, in humans consisting of plasma in which the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended.

  2. the vital principle; life: The excitement had got into the very blood of the nation.

  1. a person or group regarded as a source of energy, vitality, or vigor: It's time we got some new blood in this company.

  2. one of the four elemental bodily humors of medieval physiology, regarded as causing cheerfulness.

  3. the shedding of blood; slaughter; murder: to avenge the blood of his father.

  4. the juice or sap of plants: the blood of the grape.

  5. temperament; disposition: a person of hot blood.

  6. physical nature of human beings: the frailty of our blood.

  7. Chiefly British. a high-spirited dandy; an adventuresome youth: the young bloods of Cambridge.

  8. a profligate or rake.

  9. physical and cultural extraction: It was a trait that seemed to be in their blood.

  10. royal extraction: a prince of the blood.

  11. descent from a common ancestor; ancestry; lineage: related by blood.

  12. recorded and respected ancestry; purebred breeding.

  13. Slang.

verb (used with object)

  1. Hunting. to give (hounds) a first sight or taste of blood.: Compare flesh (def. 14).

  2. to stain with blood.

Idioms about blood

  1. get / have one's blood up, to become or be enraged or impassioned: Injustice of any sort always gets my blood up.

  2. have someone's blood on one's head / hands, to be to blame for someone's affliction or death: Though a criminal, he had no blood on his hands.

  1. in cold blood, without pity or mercy; ruthlessly: The dictator, in cold blood, ordered the execution of all his political enemies.

  2. make one's blood boil, to inspire resentment, anger, or indignation: Such carelessness makes my blood boil.

  3. make one's blood run cold, to fill with terror; frighten: The dark, deserted street in that unfamiliar neighborhood made her blood run cold.

  4. sweat blood. sweat (def. 38).

  5. taste blood, to experience a new sensation, usually a violent or destructive one, and acquire an appetite for it: Once the team had tasted blood, there was no preventing them from winning by a wide margin.

Origin of blood

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English blo(o)d, Old English blōd; cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon blōd, Old High German bluot (German Blut ), Old Norse blōth, Gothic bloth, from Germanic blōdam

Other words for blood

Other words from blood

  • bloodlike, adjective

Words that may be confused with blood

Words Nearby blood

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use blood in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for blood (1 of 2)

blood

/ (blʌd) /

noun

  1. a reddish fluid in vertebrates that is pumped by the heart through the arteries and veins, supplies tissues with nutrients, oxygen, etc, and removes waste products. It consists of a fluid (see blood plasma) containing cells (erythrocytes, leucocytes, and platelets): Related adjectives: haemal, haematic, sanguineous

  2. a similar fluid in such invertebrates as annelids and arthropods

  1. bloodshed, esp when resulting in murder

  2. the guilt or responsibility for killing or injuring (esp in the phrase to have blood on one's hands or head)

  3. life itself; lifeblood

  4. relationship through being of the same family, race, or kind; kinship

  5. blood, sweat and tears informal hard work and concentrated effort

  6. flesh and blood

    • near kindred or kinship, esp that between a parent and child

    • human nature (esp in the phrase it's more than flesh and blood can stand)

  7. ethnic or national descent: of Spanish blood

  8. in one's blood as a natural or inherited characteristic or talent

  9. the blood royal or noble descent: a prince of the blood

  10. temperament; disposition; temper

    • good or pure breeding; pedigree

    • (as modifier): blood horses

  12. people viewed as members of a group, esp as an invigorating force (in the phrases new blood, young blood)

  13. mainly British rare a dashing young man; dandy; rake

  14. the sensual or carnal nature of man

  15. obsolete one of the four bodily humours: See humour (def. 8)

  16. bad blood hatred; ill feeling

  17. blood is thicker than water family duties and loyalty outweigh other ties

  18. have one's blood up or get one's blood up to be or cause to be angry or inflamed

  19. in cold blood showing no passion; deliberately; ruthlessly

  20. make one's blood boil to cause to be angry or indignant

  21. make one's blood run cold to fill with horror

verb(tr)

  1. hunting to cause (young hounds) to taste the blood of a freshly killed quarry and so become keen to hunt

  2. hunting to smear the cheeks or forehead of (a person) with the blood of the kill as an initiation in hunting

  1. to initiate (a person) to an activity or organization, esp by real-life experience

Origin of blood

1
Old English blōd; related to Old Norse blōth, Old High German bluot

British Dictionary definitions for Blood (2 of 2)

Blood

/ (blʌd) /

noun

  1. Thomas, known as Colonel Blood . ?1618–80, Irish adventurer, who tried to steal the crown jewels (1671)

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

Scientific definitions for blood

blood

[ blŭd ]

  1. The fluid tissue that circulates through the body of a vertebrate animal by the pumping action of the heart. Blood is the transport medium by which oxygen and nutrients are carried to body cells and waste products are picked up for excretion. Blood consists of plasma in which red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended.

  2. A fluid that is similar in function in many invertebrate animals.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for blood

blood

The fluid circulating through the heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries of the circulatory system. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the cells of the body and removes waste materials and carbon dioxide. It is composed of plasma (mainly water, but with a mixture of hormones, nutrients, gases, antibodies, and wastes), red blood cells (which carry oxygen), white blood cells (which help combat infection), and platelets (which help the blood clot).

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with blood

blood

In addition to the idiom beginning with blood

  • blood is thicker than water

also see:

  • bad blood
  • draw blood
  • flesh and blood
  • in cold blood
  • in one's blood
  • make one's blood boil
  • make one's blood run cold
  • new blood
  • out for (blood)
  • run in the blood (family)
  • scream bloody murder
  • shed blood
  • sporting blood
  • sweat blood

Also see underbleed.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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