drain

[dreyn]

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

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

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.

drain

/ 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

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of drain¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of drain¹

Old English drēahnian; related to Old Norse drangr dry wood; see _dry

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. go down the drain,

   1. to become worthless or profitless.

   2. to go out of existence; disappear.

see brain drain; down the drain.

Example Sentences

“It’s just draining your tank and doing everything possible that you can possibly do on every single play for us to achieve success,” Skipper said.

From Los Angeles Times

The Japanese concept of kō, or micro-seasons, reads like a fieldworker’s prayer: fish emerge from ice; farmers drain fields; last frost, rice seedlings grow.

From Salon

Newcastle, currently 15th in the Premier League, missed out on a number of targets during a draining summer window and lost striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a British record £125m.

From BBC

In a message sent on 1 January 2024 Ms Bunyan says their relationship had left her drained and affected her mental health.

From BBC

She was in a projection room at the Warner Bros. lot with other cast members when director George Stevens “stood up and all the light drained out of him,” Baker told The Times in 1996.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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