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drain Definition

drain (drān)

transitive verb

  1. to draw off (liquid) gradually
  2. to draw water or any liquid from gradually so as to dry or empty to drain swamps
  3. to receive the waters of the St. Lawrence drains the Great Lakes
  4. to drink all the liquid from (a cup, glass, etc.)
  5. to exhaust (strength, emotions, or resources) gradually
  6. Obsolete to filter

Etymology: ME dreinen < OE dreahnian, to strain off, lit., to dry out < base of dryge, dry

intransitive verb

  1. to flow off gradually
  2. to become dry by the drawing or flowing off of liquid
  3. to disappear gradually his courage drained away
  4. to discharge its waters central Europe drains into the Danube

noun

  1. a channel or pipe for carrying off water, sewage, etc.
  2. a draining or exhausting
  3. that which gradually exhausts strength, resources, etc.
  4. Surgery a tube or other device for drawing off discharge, fluid, etc. from a cavity, wound, etc.

drain Related Forms
drainer noun
drain Idioms

down the drain

lost in a wasteful, heedless way

drain Synonyms

drain

n.

  1. A pipe or conduit

    duct, channel, sewer; see conduit, pipe 1.

  2. A gradual reduction

    exhaustion, depletion, draining, strain; see consumption 1, waste 1.

down the drain<strong>*

wasted, ruined, gone; see lost 1, wasted.

drain Synonyms

drain

v.

  1. To withdraw fluid

    divert, bleed, milk, tap, draw off, drink, remove, evaporate, catheterize; see also empty 2.

  2. To withdraw strength

    exhaust, empty, consume, weary, tire out, expend, sap, dissipate, waste, tax, deplete, impoverish, get rid of, free from, bleed, debilitate, devitalize, enervate, reduce, filter off, remove, milk*; see also spend 1, tire 2, weaken 2.

    Antonyms revive*, refresh, replenish.

  3. To seep away

    run out, run off, flow off, flow out, seep off, seep out, exude, trickle out, filter off, ooze, percolate, effuse, find an opening, osmose, decline, diminish, leave dry; see also flow 1, 2.

  4. To empty

    pour, bail out, dump; see empty 2.

drain Usage Examples

Object

  • soil: Grow in fertile well drained soil in full sun or partial shade.
  • marsh: Controls on saline intrusion in the Crag aquifer of north east Norfolk in an area of drained coastal marshes.
  • urine: Newly inserted catheter does not drain urine: The most obvious cause of failure to drain urine is failure to enter the bladder.
  • abscess: Eventually he was drugged up enough for us to fly home where he spent a week in hospital having a huge back abscess drained.
  • pasta: When done, drain the pasta and add to the mixture, turn up the heat to fierce, and toss and mix well.
  • catchment: This is reflected in unprecedented June runoff totals for some southern rivers draining permeable catchments.

Preposition: on

  • towel: Lift out, drain on paper towels, and serve as soon as possible while they are still very crisp and brittle.

Adjective modifier

  • foul: The Works Manager will ensure that rain water is pumped out of the bunded area periodically into the foul water drain.

Converse of object

  • block: I imagined they were responding to some report of a blocked drain, by sucking out the underground pipes along the road.

Modifies a noun

  • plug: Put drain plugs in the pump basket for safe keeping.
  • hose: Open the pump filter flap and pull the small drain hose forward.
  • pipe: A speck of paint, or enamel, had blocked the test drain pipe tap on the tube.
  • valve: Finally, the cylinder drain valves and be opened, and with enough air available, the engine can be spun over.
  • hole: Goring reported that drain holes still needed to be drilled to the seating of the Youth Shelter.

Noun used with modifier

  • brain: The evidence points to an overwhelming brain drain in recent years.
  • storm: I didn't see him in the storm drain, either.
  • chest: Postscript ( 18 March ) - having had a chest drain inserted for 24 hours, she is now back at home!
  • rainwater: This will make rainwater drain away from the pond instead of into it.
  • overflow: An overflow drain should be large enough to handle large amounts of water I like four inch pipe.
drain Quotes

From this foul drain the greatest stream of human industry flows out to fertilize the whole world. From this filthy sewer pure gold flows. Here humanity attains its most complete development and its most brutish, here civilizationworks its miracles and civilized man isturned almost into a savage.

—Tocqueville, Alexis Charles Henri Cle¤  rel de

Well, fancy giving money to the Government! Might as well have put it down the drain. Fancy giving money to the Government! Nobody will see the stuff again.

—Herbert, SirA(lan) P(atrick)

Browse dictionary entries near drain

  1. dragster
  2. dragrope
  3. dragoon
  4. dragonhead
  5. dragonfly
  6. dragonet
  7. dragon's blood
  8. dragon bonds
  9. dragon
  10. dragoman
  1. drain wire
  2. drainage
  3. drainage basin
  4. drainboard
  5. drainpipe
  6. drake
  7. Drake Passage
  8. Drakensberg
  9. dram
  10. drama