Words / B2

STAYN/steɪn/

A stain is a dirty mark, or a mark on someone’s reputation; as a verb, to leave that mark: a stain on a reputation; blood stain. Mark is wider; blot is literary. A stain on the trust’s reputation. Mix-up: strain is stress or a variety (already elsewhere); stair is a step. Do not write stain for muscle strain.

Meaning

A dirty mark; also a mark on someone’s reputation; (verb) to leave that mark.

Examples

• “A stain on the trust’s reputation featured in the editorial, not a coffee ring.”
• “Stain the slide before you view it, which is the lab-dye sense.”

Good to know

a stain on + reputation; blood / coffee stain; stain + object. Trap: strain / stair. News, literature, and biology. A mark, literal or moral — not stress.

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