stain meaning

Verb: stain  steyn

1. Colour with a liquid dye or tint
   "Stain this table a beautiful walnut colour"; "people knew how to stain glass a beautiful blue in the middle ages" 
2. Produce or leave stains
   "Red wine stains the table cloth" 
3. Make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically
   - tarnish, maculate, sully, defile 
4. Colour for microscopic study

Noun: stain  steyn

1. A soiled or discoloured appearance
   "the wine left a dark stain"
   - discoloration, discolouration [Brit, Cdn] 
2. (microscopy) a dye or other colouring material that is used in microscopy to make structures visible 
3. Anything regarded as making something unclean
   - dirt, filth, grime, soil, grease, grunge 
4. A symbol of disgrace or infamy
   - mark, stigma, brand 
5. An act that brings discredit to the person who does it
   - blot, smear, smirch, spot

Sounds like: stane

Derived forms: stained, stains, staining

See also: stainer, staining

Type of: alter, appearance, blob, blot, change, color [US], coloring material [US], colour [Brit, Cdn], colouring material [Brit, Cdn], dirtiness, dye, error, fault, fleck, mistake, modify, spot, symbol, uncleanness, visual aspect

Encyclopedia: Stain

[Architecture]
1.

A discoloration in the surface of wood, plastic, sealant, etc.

2.

A colorant for enhancing wood grain during finishing.

3.

A stainer.

[Medicine]
vt
1 : to cause discoloration of ‹smoking stains teeth›
2 : to color by processes affecting chemically or otherwise the material itself ‹stain bacteria with a fluorescent dye›
¦ vi : to receive a stain
²stain
n
1 : a discolored spot or area (as on the skin or teeth) —see PORT-WINE STAIN
2 : a preparation (as of dye or pigment) used in staining something; esp : a dye or mixture of dyes used in microscopy to make minute and transparent structures visible, to differentiate tissue elements, or to produce specific chemical reactions

• basic stain:    [Medicine]n : a ba ...
• blood stain:    [Medicine]Antigeni ...
• blue stain:    [Architecture]A da ...

Examples

More:   Next

1. these stains wo n't come off, i am afraid.
2. we papered over the stains on the wall.
3. i rubbed hard but the stain just would not go.
4. stain of the sediment reveals numerous bacteria.
5. nothing will touch these stains.