drain

American  

[drayn] / dreɪn /

verb (used with object)

• drains,
  present (3rd person singular)
• drained,
  past participle,  past
• draining
  present participle

1. to withdraw or draw off (a liquid) gradually; remove slowly or by degrees, as by filtration.

   to drain oil from a crankcase.

2. to withdraw liquid gradually from; make empty or dry by drawing off liquid.

   to drain a crankcase.

3. to exhaust the resources of.

   to drain the treasury.

4. to deprive of strength; tire.

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verb (used without object)

• drains,
  present (3rd person singular)
• drained,
  past participle,  past
• draining
  present participle

1. to flow off gradually.

2. to become empty or dry by the gradual flowing off of liquid or moisture.

   This land drains into the Mississippi.

noun

• drains
  plural

1. something, as a pipe or conduit, by which a liquid drains.

2. Surgery. a material or appliance for maintaining the opening of a wound to permit free exit of fluids.

3. gradual or continuous outflow, withdrawal, or expenditure.

4. something that causes a large or continuous outflow, expenditure, or depletion.

   Medical expenses were a major drain on his bank account.

5. an act of draining.

6. Physical Geography.

   1. an artificial watercourse, as a ditch or trench.

   2. a natural watercourse modified to increase its flow of water.

idioms

1. go down the drain,

   1. to become worthless or profitless.

   2. to go out of existence; disappear.

drain British  

/ dreɪn /

noun

1. a pipe or channel that carries off water, sewage, etc

2. an instance or cause of continuous diminution in resources or energy; depletion

3. surgery a device, such as a tube, for insertion into a wound, incision, or bodily cavity to drain off pus, etc

4. electronics the electrode region in a field-effect transistor into which majority carriers flow from the interelectrode conductivity channel

5. wasted

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verb

1. to draw off or remove (liquid) from

   to drain water from vegetables

   to drain vegetables

2. to flow (away) or filter (off)

3. (intr) to dry or be emptied as a result of liquid running off or flowing away

   leave the dishes to drain

4. (tr) to drink the entire contents of (a glass, cup, etc)

5. (tr) to consume or make constant demands on (resources, energy, etc); exhaust; sap

6. (intr) to disappear or leave, esp gradually

   the colour drained from his face

7. (tr) (of a river, etc) to carry off the surface water from (an area)

8. (intr) (of an area) to discharge its surface water into rivers, streams, etc

drain More Idioms  

1. see brain drain; down the drain.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• drainer
  noun
• overdrain
  verb
• drainable
  adjective
• undrainable
  adjective
• undrained
  adjective
• well-drained
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• drains
  plural

Participles

• draining
  present
• drained
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• drain
  simple
• drains
  simple
• have drained
  perfect
• has drained
  perfect
• am draining
  progressive
• are draining
  progressive
• is draining
  progressive
• have been draining
  perfect progressive
• has been draining
  perfect progressive

Past

• drained
  simple
• had drained
  perfect
• was draining
  progressive
• were draining
  progressive
• had been draining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will drain
  simple
• will have drained
  perfect
• will be draining
  progressive
• will have been draining
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of drain

before 1000; Middle English dreynen, Old English drēhnian, drēahnian to strain, filter; akin to dry

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Explanation

Most commonly found at the bottom of sinks and bathtubs across the globe, a drain is the hole through which water is carried away. If it rains on the day you decided to go to the beach, you could say your plans went right "down the drain." When used as a verb, to drain means "to gradually empty," whether it's a man-made lake that's got to go or some financial obligations putting a strain on your wallet. And that obnoxious guy who's sucking the life out of the party? He's a real drain too.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

drain drains drained draining

"We are repositioning people from other units as we get the efficiencies to this and then that will let the head count drain down," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Covering the top of the drain were flat stones, which are believed to be medieval masonry.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

A chest tube was inserted to drain the fluid.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Iran has seen a huge brain drain since the 1990s, and the caliber of its operatives has slipped.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

But then turns it on again, watching the faucet, watching the water flow down the drain.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

My driveway also has drains built into it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Once the lava drains away, it can leave behind hollow tunnels.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

He drains the life out of an opposing crowd as well as anyone in major league history, with a 1.42 ERA in six road playoff outings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

“It’s amazing to get all the new businesses back in, we’re doing great—and then everything starts flooding again because the stormwater drains are still clogged,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

Fear drains from his mother like a wave back into the sea.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Helen says she felt "emotionally drained" trying to work out what was happening.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

“To Catch a Predator” drained some of the humanity from TV.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Mentally, physically, emotionally, I’m drained to the last drop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Fittingly, it was the red-hot Stark who drained her putt on the 17th for a 2&1 win that meant Europe would at worst be level heading into the singles.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

I felt drained too when I thought how much could be taken away from one moment to the next.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

A California e-commerce platform is fueling the rise of live shopping in the United States, taking on giants such as TikTok and tackling concerns that the app is draining people’s bank accounts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

With technology draining the satisfaction of being first to crack a cipher, a fellow code-breaker told Tomokiyo: "I feel useless."

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

To increase supply, he has released millions of barrels from the U.S.’s emergency petroleum stockpile, draining the reserve to its lowest level in 44 years.

From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026

Not everyone was happy with the new format and there were complaints that a serious, and sometimes emotionally draining sequence, was followed by a quirky item on, for example, rude-looking vegetables.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

His squad came to a muddy stream draining a rice paddy.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

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Related Words

• bleed
• consume
• deplete
• diminish
• divert
• dry
• empty
• exhaust
• pump
• reduce
• sap
• siphon
• strain
• suck
• tap
• use up

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