Noun
an act that brings discredit to the person who does it; "he made a huge blot on his copybook"

Noun
a soiled or discolored appearance; "the wine left a dark stain"

Noun
a symbol of disgrace or infamy; "And the Lord set a mark upon Cain"--Genesis

Noun
the state of being covered with unclean things

Noun
(microscopy) a dye or other coloring material that is used in microscopy to make structures visible

Verb
color for microscopic study; "The laboratory worker dyed the specimen"

Verb
color with a liquid dye or tint; "Stain this table a beautiful walnut color"; "people knew how to stain glass a beautiful blue in the middle ages"

Verb
produce or leave stains; "Red wine stains the table cloth"

Verb
make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically; "The silver was tarnished by the long exposure to the air"; "Her reputation was sullied after the affair with a married man"

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v. t.
To discolor by the application of foreign matter; to make foul; to spot; as, to stain the hand with dye; armor stained with blood.

v. t.
To color, as wood, glass, paper, cloth, or the like, by processess affecting, chemically or otherwise, the material itself; to tinge with a color or colors combining with, or penetrating, the substance; to dye; as, to stain wood with acids, colored washes, paint rubbed in, etc.; to stain glass.

v. t.
To spot with guilt or infamy; to bring reproach on; to blot; to soil; to tarnish.

v. t.
To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.

v. i.
To give or receive a stain; to grow dim.

n.
A discoloration by foreign matter; a spot; as, a stain on a garment or cloth.

n.
A natural spot of a color different from the gound.

n.
Taint of guilt; tarnish; disgrace; reproach.

n.
Cause of reproach; shame.

n.
A tincture; a tinge.

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Stain

Stain , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stained ; p. pr. & vb. n. Staining.] [Abbrev. fr. distain.] 1. To discolor by the application of foreign matter; to make foul; to spot; as, to stain the hand with dye; armor stained with blood. 2. To color, as wood, glass, paper, cloth, or the like, by processess affecting, chemically or otherwise, the material itself; to tinge with a color or colors combining with, or penetrating, the substance; to dye; as, to stain wood with acids, colored washes, paint rubbed in, etc.; to stain glass. 3. To spot with guilt or infamy; to bring reproach on; to blot; to soil; to tarnish.

Of honor void, Of innocence, of faith, of purity, Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained.

4. To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.

She stains the ripest virgins of her age.

That did all other beasts in beauty stain.

Stained glass, glass colored or stained by certain metallic pigments fused into its substance, -- often used for making ornament windows. Syn. -- To paint; dye; blot; soil; sully; discolor; disgrace; taint. -- Paint, Stain, Dye. These denote three different processes; the first mechanical, the other two, chiefly chemical. To paint a thing is so spread a coat of coloring matter over it; to stain or dye a thing is to impart color to its substance. To stain is said chiefly of solids, as wood, glass, paper; to dye, of fibrous substances, textile fabrics, etc.; the one, commonly, a simple process, as applying a wash; the other more complex, as fixing colors by mordants.

Stain

Stain, v. i. To give or receive a stain; to grow dim.

Stain

Stain, n. 1. A discoloration by foreign matter; a spot; as, a stain on a garment or cloth. Shak. 2. A natural spot of a color different from the gound.

Swift trouts, diversified with crimson stains.

3. Taint of guilt; tarnish; disgrace; reproach.

Nor death itself can wholly wash their stains.

Our opinion . . . is, I trust, without any blemish or stain of heresy.

4. Cause of reproach; shame. Sir P. Sidney. 5. A tincture; a tinge. [R.]

You have some stain of soldier in you.

Syn. -- Blot; spot; taint; pollution; blemish; tarnish; color; disgrace; infamy; shame.

To discolor by the application of foreign matter; to make foul; to spot; as, to stain the hand with dye; armor stained with blood.

To give or receive a stain; to grow dim.

A discoloration by foreign matter; a spot; as, a stain on a garment or cloth.