underdrain

American  

[uhn-der-dreyn, uhn-der-dreyn] / ˈʌn dərˌdreɪn, ˌʌn dərˈdreɪn /

noun

1. a drain placed beneath the surface of cultivated fields, streets, etc.

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verb (used with object)

1. to equip or supply with an underdrain or underdrains.

underdrain British  

noun

1. a drain buried below agricultural land

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verb

1. to bury such drains below (agricultural land)

Other Word Forms

• underdrainage
  noun

Etymology

Origin of underdrain

First recorded in 1795–1805; under- + drain

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

underdrain

"Do you think it is profitable to underdrain land?" is a question a thousand times asked, and yet is a question that admits of no direct general answer.

From Farm drainage The Principles, Processes, and Effects of Draining Land with Stones, Wood, Plows, and Open Ditches, and Especially with Tiles by French, Henry F. (Henry Flagg)

A properly laid underdrain will last half a century or more, but an open drain, especially if deep, has a constant tendency to fill up.

From Farm drainage The Principles, Processes, and Effects of Draining Land with Stones, Wood, Plows, and Open Ditches, and Especially with Tiles by French, Henry F. (Henry Flagg)

Still, the importance of draining can not be doubted: the best results follow its use, and he who would reap the best harvests, and attain the highest success, will underdrain his land.

From American Pomology Apples by Warder, J. A.

In clay soils the underdrain is not necessary.

From Rural Hygiene by Ogden, Henry N. (Henry Neely)

If they would first put in good big sewers, running slick and clean to the river, and underdrain the whole premises, 't wouldn't be quite so bad.

From Homes and How to Make Them by Gardner, E. C. (Eugene Clarence)