blood stain

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A mark or patch left on cloth or a surface by blood that has dried.

   Grammar: Countable: a blood stain on the shirt, two blood stains on the floor.

   Patterns

   • a blood stain on something
   • remove a blood stain

   She found a blood stain on the sleeve of her shirt.

   Cold water is best for removing a fresh blood stain.

   Investigators photographed every blood stain on the kitchen floor.

2. 2nouncountablespecialist

   In crime investigation, a mark of blood used as evidence about what happened at a scene.

   Grammar: Often plural in reports: blood stains were found.

   Patterns

   • blood stain pattern
   • analyze blood stains

   Experts studied the shape of each blood stain to work out where the attack began.

   A dark blood stain near the door led police to the suspect.

   The jury was shown a photograph of a blood stain on the carpet.

Word forms

Common combinations

remove a blood stain

Salt water can help remove a blood stain from cotton.

dried blood stain

A dried blood stain was visible on the step.

blood stain pattern

Analysts examined the blood stain pattern on the wall.

fresh blood stain

Rinse a fresh blood stain in cold water right away.

a blood stain on the floor

There was a blood stain on the floor by the window.

Synonyms and how they differ

bloodstain

Bloodstain is the one-word spelling, which is more common and has exactly the same meaning.

smear

Smear describes a dirty streak or mark of any substance, while a blood stain is always from blood.

splatter

Splatter names drops thrown across a surface, whereas blood stain can be any mark.

mark

Mark is general and can be any spot or line, but blood stain is specific.

Word family

stain noun

a mark that is hard to remove

stain verb

to leave a mark on something

bloodstained adjective

marked or covered with blood

blood noun

the red liquid in the body

Commonly confused: blood stain or blood spot?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “blood stain”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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