Blood

/blʌd/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually conveys nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red by hemoglobin, is conveyed by arteries and veins, is pumped by the heart and is usually generated in bone marrow.
  • Grammar: blood is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: ancestry, lineage, acute leukemia, affiliation.
  • Useful contrasts: adoptive, bloodless, coagulate.
  • Usage evidence: Parents who beat their children really make my blood boil.

How to use "blood"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "blood" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "blood" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "blood" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "blood" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "blood" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "ancestry" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "blood", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually conveys nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red by hemoglobin, is conveyed by arteries and veins, is pumped by the heart and is usually generated in bone marrow. countable, uncountable

    "Some insects are known for consuming blood."

  2. 2
    A member of the Los Angeles gang The Bloods, who typically wear red and have an intense and bitter rivalry with the Crips.

    "My union with the neighborhood kids teaches me Bloods don't say or write words starting with c's. This is how Bloods disrespect Crips. They replace all c's with k's or b's and cross out all remaining c's in the word."

  3. 3
    temperament or disposition wordnet
  4. 4
    A family relationship due to birth, such as that between siblings; contrasted with relationships due to marriage or adoption. See blood relative, blood relation. countable, uncountable

    "a friend of our own blood"

  5. 5
    the fluid (red in vertebrates) that is pumped through the body by the heart and contains plasma, blood cells, and platelets wordnet
Show 16 more definitions
  1. 6
    One of the four humours in the human body. countable, historical, uncountable
  2. 7
    people viewed as members of a group wordnet
  3. 8
    The endometrial lining as it is shed in menstruation; menstrual fluid. countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    the hereditary derivation of an individual wordnet
  5. 10
    A blood test or blood sample. countable, informal

    "When I got Bilbo to their surgery the vet took Bilbo in for tests. […] His bloods showed nothing wrong at all."

  6. 11
    a dissolute man in fashionable society wordnet
  7. 12
    The sap or juice which flows in or from plants. countable, uncountable

    "It is no tautology to call the blood of the grape red or purple, because the juice of that fruit was sometimes white and sometimes black or dark. The arterial blood of our bodies is red, but the venous is called "black blood.""

  8. 13
    The juice of anything, especially if red. countable, poetic, uncountable

    "He washed[…]his clothes in the blood of grapes."

  9. 14
    A temper of mind; a disposition; a mood. countable, uncountable

    "When thou perceive his blood inclined to mirth"

  10. 15
    A lively, showy man; a rake; a dandy. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "Seest thou not[…]how giddily 'a turns about all the hot bloods between fourteen and five and thirty?"

  11. 16
    A blood horse, one of good pedigree. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    Bloodshed. countable, figuratively, uncountable

    "They came looking for blood."

  13. 18
    A friend or acquaintance, especially one who is black and male. countable, uncountable
  14. 19
    Alternative letter-case form of Blood (“a member of a certain gang”). alt-of, countable, uncountable
  15. 20
    Alternative form of blud (“an informal address to a male.”). Multicultural-London-English, UK, alt-of, alternative, countable, slang, uncountable

    "Blood I swear she just gave man extra chicken? Two fat pieces of chicken."

  16. 21
    Lean, especially that is red. US, countable, slang, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To cause something to be covered with blood; to bloody. transitive

    "The French gentleman and Mr Adderly, at the desire of their commanding officer, had raised up the body of Jones, but as they could perceive but little (if any) sign of life in him, they again let him fall, Adderly damning him for having blooded his wastecoat […]"

  2. 2
    smear with blood, as in a hunting initiation rite, where the face of a person is smeared with the blood of the kill wordnet
  3. 3
    To let blood (from); to bleed. historical

    "On Sᵗ Stephens day the Farrier came constantly and blouded all the Cart-horses."

  4. 4
    To initiate into warfare or a blood sport, traditionally by smearing with the blood of the first kill witnessed. transitive
  5. 5
    To make eager for bloodshed or combat; to incite or enrage against. obsolete, transitive
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Example

"Parents who beat their children really make my blood boil."

Common questions

What does "blood" mean?

A vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually conveys nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red by hemoglobin, is conveyed by arteries and veins, is pumped by the heart and is usually generated in bone marrow.

What is a synonym for "blood"?

Common synonyms include: ancestry, lineage, acute leukemia, affiliation, agnate, agnation.

How do you use "blood" in a sentence?

Parents who beat their children really make my blood boil.

How do you pronounce "blood"?

Pronounced /blʌd/.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-? Proto-Germanic *blōþą Proto-West Germanic *blōd Old English blōd Middle English blood English blood From Middle English blood, from Old English blōd, from Proto-West Germanic *blōd, from Proto-Germanic *blōþą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ("to swell") + -ó- (thematic vowel) + -to (nominalizer), i.e. "that which bursts out". Cognate with Scots blude, bluid (“blood”), North Frisian blud, blödj, Blör (“blood”), Saterland Frisian Bloud (“blood”), West Frisian bloed (“blood”), Cimbrian pluat, pluut (“blood”), Dutch bloed (“blood”), German Blut (“blood”), German Low German Blood, Bloot (“blood”), Luxembourgish Blutt (“blood”), Vilamovian błüt (“blood”), Yiddish בלוט (blut, “blood”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish blod (“blood”), Faroese and Icelandic blóð (“blood”), Crimean Gothic plut (“blood”), Gothic 𐌱𐌻𐍉𐌸 (blōþ, “blood”).

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