blood

/bləd/

/bləd/

Other forms: bloods; blooded; blooding

Blood most often describes the fluid that circulates through your body — the red stuff that seeps out of your finger if you get a paper cut.

Blood can also refer to temperament. If something gets your blood up, that means it makes you angry. You might even get so mad that it feels like your blood boils. You can also use blood to describe a common ancestry. You might have Scottish blood in you — that means some of your ancestors came from Scotland. Blood can also describe family members — you may get frustrated at your brother sometimes but he’s your own flesh and blood.

Definitions of blood

1. noun

   the fluid (red in vertebrates) that is pumped through the body by the heart and contains plasma, blood cells, and platelets
   “blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and carries away waste products”

   “the ancients believed that blood was the seat of the emotions”

   types:

   arterial blood

   blood found in arteries

   blood group, blood type

   human blood cells (usually just the red blood cells) that have the same antigens

   gore

   coagulated blood from a wound

   lifeblood

   the blood considered as the seat of vitality

   blood stream, bloodstream

   the blood flowing through the circulatory system

   blood clot, grume

   a semisolid mass of coagulated red and white blood cells

   cord blood

   blood obtained from the umbilical cord at birth

   menorrhea, menstrual blood, menstrual flow

   flow of blood from the uterus; occurs at roughly monthly intervals during a woman's reproductive years

   venous blood

   blood found in the veins

   whole blood

   blood that has not been modified except for the addition of an anticoagulant

   A, group A, type A

   the blood group whose red cells carry the A antigen

   B, group B, type B

   the blood group whose red cells carry the B antigen

   AB, group AB, type AB

   the blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens

   O, group O, type O

   the blood group whose red cells carry neither the A nor B antigens

   Rh positive, Rh-positive blood type

   the blood group (approximately 85% of people) whose red cells have the Rh factor (Rh antigen)

   Rh negative, Rh-negative blood, Rh-negative blood type

   the blood group whose red cells lack the Rh factor (Rh antigen)

   type of:

   bodily fluid, body fluid, humor, humour, liquid body substance

   the liquid parts of the body
2. verb

   smear with blood, as in a hunting initiation rite, where the face of a person is smeared with the blood of the kill
   type of:

   daub, smear

   cover (a surface) by smearing (a substance) over it
3. noun

   the descendants of one individual
   synonyms: ancestry, blood line, bloodline, descent, line, line of descent, lineage, origin, parentage, pedigree, stemma, stock

   types:

   family, family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, phratry, sept

   people descended from a common ancestor

   side

   a family line of descent

   people

   members of a family line

   homefolk

   the people of your home locality (especially your own family)

   house

   aristocratic family line

   dynasty

   a sequence of powerful leaders in the same family

   gens, name

   family based on male descent

   type of:

   family tree, genealogy

   successive generations of kin
4. noun

   people viewed as members of a group
   “we need more young blood in this organization”

   type of:

   people

   (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
5. noun

   temperament or disposition
   “a person of hot blood”

   type of:

   disposition, temperament

   your usual mood
6. noun

   a dissolute man in fashionable society
   synonyms: profligate, rake, rakehell, rip, roue

   type of:

   debauchee, libertine, rounder

   a dissolute person; usually a man who is morally unrestrained