blood

noun, often attributive \ ˈbləd \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of blood

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 a : lifeblood; broadly : life

b : human stock or lineage; especially : royal lineage

a prince of the blood

c : relationship by descent from a common ancestor : kinship

d : persons related through common descent : kindred

e (1) : honorable or high birth or descent

(2) : descent from parents of recognized breed or pedigree

4 a : blood regarded as the seat of the emotions : temper

b obsolete : lust

c : a showy foppish man : 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

— in one's blood

: ingrained in one's nature : occurring as an innate or seemingly hereditary principle, inclination, or talent

with two parents who are painters, art is in her blood

See blood defined for English-language learners

See blood defined for kids

Examples of blood in a Sentence

The accident victim has already lost a lot of blood.
the blood in your veins

Recent Examples of blood from the Web

Arceo was not at home at the time, and returned to find his wife lying in a pool of blood, and his daughter cording to court records.

— crimesider staff, CBS News, "Tears, curses fill Utah court as killer of mother of two is sentenced," 12 Apr. 2018
Rinse and repeat, then rinse again in copious amounts of blood.

— andrew webster, The Verge, "God of War review: an incredible reimagining of a PlayStation icon," 12 Apr. 2018
Hours later, the elderly man’s son found the victim, naked and stabbed to death, lying in a pool of blood with a plastic yellow flower carefully wrapped around his ear.

— Fox News, "Anti-gay killer, who used victim's blood to scrawl Hitler message, captured after 18-year pursuit, cops say," 11 Apr. 2018
Drops of blood were also found on a hand truck in the garage at the house, in the 400 block of Northwest 72nd Street in Boca Raton.

— linda trischitta, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Boca Raton cops follow grisly evidence to son accused of killing ex-judge," 11 Apr. 2018
Theranos had claimed to have developed revolutionary technology that could diagnose disease with tiny pinpricks of blood, but those claims were later shown to be largely overblown.

— sy mukherjee, Fortune, "Report: Theranos Just Laid Off the Vast Majority of Its Employees," 10 Apr. 2018
Reigns also bled, which is rare in the 2018 version of WWE, with a pool of blood collecting in the center of the ring.

— justin barrasso, SI.com, "The Five Key Takeaways from WrestleMania 34," 9 Apr. 2018
His heart pounding, Jim rushed to Alicia, who was in a pool of blood.

— stu bykofsky, Philly.com, "Blue Cross ends double cross for woman in coma | Stu Bykofsky," 5 Apr. 2018
The 14-year-old made it into a nearby house before collapsing in a pool of blood in the kitchen.

— megan crepeau, chicagotribune.com, "Long legal saga slated to end Wednesday for teenager who admitted killing 14-year-old Endia Martin," 3 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blood.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of blood

Middle English, from Old English blōd; akin to Old High German bluot blood

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

blood Synonyms

Other Anatomy Terms

bilateral symmetry, carotid, cartilage, dorsal, entrails, prehensile, renal, solar plexus, supine, thoracic, ventral

blood

verb

Definition of blood

transitive verb

1 : to stain or wet with blood

2 archaic : bleed 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

Recent Examples of blood from the Web

Iniesta was handed his first-team debut for Barça in 2002 by manager Louis van Gaal, the same coach who had blooded Xavi during an earlier spell in charge.

— SI.com, "'Cancer of Barça': Camp Nou Legend Xavi Recalls Harsh Criticism He Suffered Early in His Career," 20 Mar. 2018
The question is, if Chelsea had any intention of blooding them next season, why spend around £110m on Tiemoue Bakayoko and Alvaro Morata to occupy their positions?

— SI.com, "Harry Kane Is a Rare Beneficiary of the Botched Modern Day Loan System," 15 Apr. 2017
With Mauricio Pochettino's record with blooding young players particularly impressive - his interest in the German comes as no surprise.

— SI.com, "Report: Arsenal, Tottenham Join Barcelona in the Hunt for Leon Goretzka," 5 Nov. 2017

First Known Use of blood

1590

BLOOD Defined for English Language Learners

blood

noun

Definition of blood for English Language Learners

: the red liquid that flows through the bodies of people and animals
: members of a team, company, or organization

BLOOD Defined for Kids

blood

noun \ ˈbləd \

Definition of blood for Students

1 : the red fluid that circulates in the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins of persons and animals and that brings nourishment and oxygen to and carries away waste products from all parts of the body

2 : relationship through a common ancestor : kinship

She is my aunt by marriage, not by blood.

—

blooded

\ˈbləd-əd\ adjective

Medical Dictionary

blood

noun, often attributive \ ˈbləd \

medical Definition of blood

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 fluid of an invertebrate comparable to blood

3 : blood regarded in medieval physiology as one of the four humors and believed to be the seat of the emotions

4 : descent from parents of recognized breed or pedigree