What does "taint" mean?
A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food.
Taint
/teɪnt/ contraction, noun, verb, slang
contraction, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food.
- Grammar: taint is listed as contraction, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: contamination, abuse, admixture, adulterant.
- Useful contrasts: purified, sublime, untainted.
- Usage evidence: Back, from another quarter of the sky, / dark-ambushed, round the clamorous Harpies fly / with taloned claws, and taste and taint the prey.
How to use "taint"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "taint" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "taint" 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 "taint" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "taint" 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 "taint" is acting as contraction, 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 "contamination" 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 "taint", 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 A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food.
- 2 A thrust with a lance, which fails of its intended effect.
"This taint he follow'd with his sword, drawn from a silver sheath, Which lifting high, he struck his helm full where his plume did stand, On which it piecemeal brake, and fell from his unhappy hand."
- 3 The perineum. US, slang, vulgar
"Sorry you feel that way. But since your mother sucks cocks in hell if I go there I won't be rotting.....I'll be on line right behind you hoping to get another good head job from your Mom or Sister....if you can remember which is which.......(Moms the one with the beard on her taint)"
- 4 the state of being contaminated wordnet
- 5 A tinge, trace or touch.
"There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies, - which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world - what I want to forget."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 An injury done to a lance in an encounter, without its being broken; also, a breaking of a lance in an encounter in a dishonorable or unscientific manner.
- 7 A mark of disgrace, especially on one's character; blemish.
- 8 Tincture; hue; colour. obsolete
- 9 Infection; corruption; deprivation. obsolete
"A prison taint was on everything there. The imprisoned air, the imprisoned light, the imprisoned damps, the imprisoned men, were all deteriorated by confinement."
- 10 A marker indicating that a variable is unsafe and should be subjected to additional security checks.
"Using Apache version 1.3.29 and Perl version 5.8.2, we tracked the following sequence of taints […]"
Verb
- 1 To contaminate or corrupt (something) with an external agent, either physically or morally. transitive
"His unkindness may defeat my life, / But never taint my love."
- 2 To damage, as a lance, without breaking it; also, to break, as a lance, but usually in an unknightly or unscientific manner. transitive
"Do not fear; I have / A staff to taint, and bravely."
- 3 contaminate with a disease or microorganism wordnet
- 4 To spoil (food) by contamination. transitive
- 5 To thrust ineffectually with a lance. intransitive
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 place under suspicion or cast doubt upon wordnet
- 7 To be infected or corrupted; to be touched by something corrupting. intransitive
"I cannot taint with fear."
- 8 To be affected with incipient putrefaction. intransitive
"Meat soon taints in warm weather."
- 9 To mark (a variable) as unsafe, so that operations involving it are subject to additional security checks. transitive
- 10 To invalidate (a share capital account) by transferring profits into it. Australia, transitive
Contraction
- 1 Alternative spelling of 'taint. alt-of, alternative, contraction
Example
"Back, from another quarter of the sky, / dark-ambushed, round the clamorous Harpies fly / with taloned claws, and taste and taint the prey."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "taint"?
Common synonyms include: contamination, abuse, admixture, adulterant, adulterate, adulterate.
How do you use "taint" in a sentence?
Back, from another quarter of the sky, / dark-ambushed, round the clamorous Harpies fly / with taloned claws, and taste and taint the prey.
How do you pronounce "taint"?
Pronounced /teɪnt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle French teint, from Old French teint (past participle of teindre (“to dye, to tinge”)), from Latin tinctum (past participle of tingere); compare tint.
Etymology 2
From Middle English taynt, aphetic form of attaynt, atteynt, from Old French atteinte (“a blow, stroke”). Compare with attaint.
Etymology 3
Reportedly from the phrase “'tain't your balls and 'tain't your ass”. Ascribed to E.E. Landy's Underground Dict. (1972) is the following explanation: ‘'taint their ass and 'taint their pussy.’
Etymology 4
Contraction of it + ain't.