stain

[ steyn ]

noun

1. a discoloration produced by foreign matter having penetrated into or chemically reacted with a material; a spot not easily removed.

   Synonyms: blot, imperfection, mark

2. a natural spot or patch of color different from that of the basic color, as on the body of an animal.
3. a cause of reproach; stigma; blemish:

   a stain on one's reputation.

   Synonyms: taint, blot, imperfection, mark

4. coloration produced by a dye that penetrates a substance, as wood.
5. a dye made into a solution for coloring woods, textiles, etc.
6. a reagent or dye used in treating a specimen for microscopic examination.

verb (used with object)

1. to discolor with spots or streaks of foreign matter.

   Synonyms: dirty, soil, streak, spot

2. to bring reproach or dishonor upon; blemish.

   Synonyms: pollute, contaminate, defile, debase, dishonor, disgrace, tarnish, taint, sully

3. to sully with guilt or infamy; corrupt.
4. to color or dye (wood, cloth, etc.) by any of various processes that change or react with the substance chemically.
5. to color with something that penetrates the substance.
6. 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)

1. to produce a stain.
2. to become stained; take a stain:

   This fabric stains easily.

stain

/ steɪn /

verb

1. to mark or discolour with patches of something that dirties

   the dress was stained with coffee

2. to dye with a penetrating dyestuff or pigment
3. to bring disgrace or shame on

   to stain someone's honour

4. to colour (specimens) for microscopic study by treatment with a dye or similar reagent
5. intr to produce indelible marks or discoloration

   does ink stain?

noun

1. a spot, mark, or discoloration
2. a moral taint; blemish or slur
3. a dye or similar reagent, used to colour specimens for microscopic study
4. 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
5. any dye that is made into a solution and used to colour textiles and hides

Derived Forms

• ˈstainer, noun
• ˌstainaˈbility, noun
• ˈstainable, adjective

Other Words From

• staina·ble adjective
• staina·bili·ty staina·ble·ness noun
• staina·bly adverb
• stainer 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of stain¹

1350–1400; Middle English steynen < Old Norse steina to paint; in some senses aphetic form of distain

Word History and Origins

Origin of stain¹

C14 steynen (vb), shortened from disteynen to remove colour from, from Old French desteindre to discolour, from des- dis- ¹+ teindre , from Latin tingere to tinge

Example Sentences

And, perhaps above all, run more candidates who’ve gotten dirt under their fingernails, mud on the soles of their boots or grease stains on their coveralls.

From Los Angeles Times

The starting point for the proposed Chuckwalla monument is Painted Canyon, an area near the eastern edge of the Coachella Valley where the mountainside is stained deep red, pink, green and gray.

From Los Angeles Times

This isn't the first time Moss revealed that a modeling photo shoot left a stain on her overall experience.

From Salon

One executive with the competitor, Partners Personnel, wrote in March 2021 that Mr. Perez’s run-ins with the law had the “potential to significantly disrupt your operations” and put “an unfortunate stain on the staffing industry.”

From New York Times

Some of the protesters held placards that read: “Our hands are stained with mud. Theirs are stained with blood.”

From BBC

Related Words

• blemish
• blotch
• color
• dye
• smudge
• speck
• splotch
• stigma
• tint

About This Word

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.”

Where does stain come from?

Content warning: this article contains vulgar language.

The word stain is an old one in English. Starting in the 14th century, stain was a verb meaning “to blemish.” It became a noun referring to a mark or spot by the 16th century.

In the early 1600s, saying someone was stained could mean they were “drunk”—a slang sense that re-emerged in the 1990s.

By the 1990s, stain was in evidence in American and British English as a slang expression for a jerk (i.e., a contemptible person). This stain could be a shortening of wank-stain (the stain left over from ejaculate) or shit-stain.

In the 2010s, a stain in Black American gang slang came to refer to an “armed robbery,” either of a neighborhood business or of an individual. It’s possible that this stain comes from the metaphor that committing crime leaves a stain on one’s character. Typically, it is found in the expression hit a stain, meaning to “commit a robbery.”

A prominent example of the robbery sense of stain comes from the 2018 track “GUMMO” by notorious rapper and sometime criminal, 6ix9ine: “Hit a stain, fifty bands, all hunnids,” meaning that he’s robbed someone and got fifty thousand dollars in strapped hundred-dollar bills.

How is stain used in real life?

Calling someone a stain can be found in youth slang, especially in the UK.

It’s a distinctly insulting expression, insinuating someone is as disgusting as the mess left over by semen or feces.

In Black American gang slang, hitting a stain is a way to talk about committing armed robbery. Gangsters—and their wannabes—might reference past stains and stains they’re planning to hit.

i love seeing hood mfs on scooters. finna hit a stain w a lime.

— recks (@rxpriest) August 24, 2018

As we’ve seen, the gang-related stain can be found in hip-hop songs, such as Chance the Rapper’s 2013 track “Chain Smoker”: “Stain hitting, satin woodgrain gripping / Paint dripping / Motha, shut your mouth.”

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.