stain

Universal Words verb, noun verb 1 ~ (sth) (with sth) to leave marks that are difficult to remove on sth; to be marked in this way: [VN] I hope it doesn't stain the carpet. * [V] This carpet stains easily. * [VN-ADJ] The juice from the berries stained their fingers red. 2 to change the colour of sth using a coloured liquid: [VN] to stain wood * Stain the specimen before looking at it under the microscope. * [VN-ADJ] They stained the floors dark brown. 3 [VN] (written) to damage the opinion that people have of sth: The events had stained the city's reputation unfairly. noun 1 [C] a dirty mark on sth, that is difficult to remove: a blood / a coffee / an ink stain * stubborn stains (= that are very difficult to remove) * How can I get this stain out? * The carpet has been treated so that it is stain-resistant (= stains can be removed easily from it). 2 [U,C] a liquid used for changing the colour of wood or fabric: wood stain 3 [sing.] a ~ on sth (written) something that damages a person's reputation, so that people think badly of them: He left the court without a stain on his character.