stain
/steɪn/noun, verb
stain is spelled S-T-A-I-N: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, stain means “A discolored spot or area caused by spillage or other contact with certain fluids or substances” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of stain is stains.
How many letters and syllables are in stain?
| Letters | 5: S-T-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is stain?
Stain appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce stain?
- /steɪn/
Stain has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-stain.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with stain?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as stain.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: saint, satin, astin.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of stain
- stains plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- staining participle, present
- stained participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A discolored spot or area caused by spillage or other contact with certain fluids or substances.
- 2
A blemish on one's character or reputation.
- 3
A substance used to soak into a surface and colour it.
- 4
A reagent or dye used to stain microscope specimens so as to make some structures visible.
- 5
One of a number of non-standard tinctures used chiefly in post-medieval heraldry, especially tenné, murrey, or sanguine.
verb
- 1
To discolor, as by spilling or other contact with a fluid or substance.
to stain the hand with dye
- 2
To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation
- 3
To coat a surface with a stain
to stain wood with acids, coloured washes, paint rubbed in, etc.
- 4
To become stained; to take a stain.
- 5
To treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features
- 6
To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tache , souillure , colorant , tacher , entacher , colorer |
| German | Fleck, Schmutzspur, Fehler, Verfärbung, Brandfleck , Schandfleck |
| Portuguese | nódoa, mancha, mácula , colorante, tinta , corar |
| Spanish | mancha, lamparón, rodal, mácula, churretón, chorretón |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does stain come from?
From Middle English steinen, steynen (“to stain, colour, paint”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse steina (“to stain, colour, paint”), from steinn (“stone, mineral blue, colour, stain”), from Proto-Norse ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉ (stainaʀ), from Proto-Germanic *stainaz (“stone”), from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”). Cognate with Old English stān (“stone”). More at stone. Replaced native Middle English wem (“spot, blemish, stain”), from Old English wamm (“spot, stain”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).