often attributive
1
a(1)
: the fluid that circulates in the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins of a vertebrate animal carrying nourishment and oxygen to and bringing away waste products from all parts of the body
(2)
: a comparable fluid of an invertebrate
b
: a fluid resembling blood
2
: the shedding of blood
also
: the taking of life
3
b(1)
: human ancestry or lineage
There's some Lebanese blood in the family.
(2)
: royal lineage
a prince of the blood
c
: relationship by descent from a common ancestor : kinship
You're my friend, but blood is thicker than water. [=kinship is more important than other relationships]
d
: persons related through common descent : kindred
They are my own blood. [=I am related to them.]
e(1)
: honorable or high birth or descent
(2)
: descent from parents of recognized breed or pedigree
4
a(1)
: blood regarded as the seat of the emotions : temper
Chide him for his faults, and do it reverently, / When you perceive his blood inclined to mirth; / But, being moody, give him line and scope …—
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
(2)
: the one of the four humors (see humor entry 1 sense 2c) in ancient and medieval physiology that was believed to be hot and moist and to cause cheerfulness and optimism
b
obsolete
: lust
c
: a man who dresses showily and behaves in an immoral or improper way : rake
5
: members of a team, staff, or organization : personnel
a company in need of new blood
6
informal
: an African American male
—used especially among Black people
blooded; blooding; bloods
1
: to stain or wet with blood
2
archaic
: bleed sense 1
3
: to expose (a hunting dog) to sight, scent, or taste of the blood of its prey
4
: to give experience to
troops blooded in battle
Examples of blood in a Sentence
Noun
The accident victim has already lost a lot of blood.
the blood in your veins
Recent Examples on the Web
Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
Kanto practitioners believe that women cannot participate because, according to Japan's Shinto religion, women's blood from menstruation and childbirth is considered impure for the purpose of religious rituals.
—Anthony Kuhn, NPR, 3 Nov. 2025
Bob Guccione Jr., SPIN, 11 Feb. 2025
Lately, coach Carlo Ancelotti has decided against blooding players from the Castilla youth setup, namely Álvaro Rodríguez, Sergio Arribas, Carlos Dotor, and Nico Paz, like in the loss to Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena in San Sebastián on Tuesday.
—Henry Flynn, Forbes, 4 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for blood
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Noun
Crawford explores the lines between blood and flower, between histories, inevitabilities, and possibilities.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
Kanto practitioners believe that women cannot participate because, according to Japan's Shinto religion, women's blood from menstruation and childbirth is considered impure for the purpose of religious rituals.
—Anthony Kuhn, NPR, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
Everybody has to be blooded up to go off the yard in the feds.
—Bob Guccione Jr., SPIN, 11 Feb. 2025
Lately, coach Carlo Ancelotti has decided against blooding players from the Castilla youth setup, namely Álvaro Rodríguez, Sergio Arribas, Carlos Dotor, and Nico Paz, like in the loss to Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena in San Sebastián on Tuesday.
—Henry Flynn, Forbes, 4 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for blood
Cite this Entry
“Blood.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blood. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
blood
1 of 2 noun1
a
: the red fluid that circulates in the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins of a vertebrate animal and that brings nourishment and oxygen to and carries away waste products from all parts of the body
b
: a fluid resembling blood
2
a
: lineage sense 2, descent
especially
: royal lineage
b
: relationship through a common ancestor : kinship
blood
2 of 2 verb
: to give experience to
Etymology
Noun
Old English blōd "blood"
Verb
from an earlier sense, meaning "to smear the face of an inexperienced fox hunter with blood of the fox killed on his first hunt"
Medical Definition
blood
noun1
: the fluid that circulates in the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins of a vertebrate animal carrying nourishment and oxygen to and bringing away waste products from all parts of the body
2
: a fluid of an invertebrate comparable to blood
3
: the one of the four humors (see humor sense 2) in ancient and medieval physiology that was believed to be hot and moist and to cause cheerfulness and optimism
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