drain

American  

[dreyn] / 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

Etymology

Origin of drain

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

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

The ratio is simple: Blend a single can of undrained black beans until creamy and completely smooth.

From Salon • Apr. 11, 2022

She also used undrained tinned chickpeas – for her, the gloop the chickpeas came in was an essential part of the sauce.

From The Guardian • May 13, 2020

The Great Fen Project in Cambridgeshire seeks to connect the last fragments of undrained fen and restore a unique wetland once home to the extinct large copper butterfly.

From The Guardian • Jul. 3, 2017

The countryside, once flourishing despite poor soil, and the supplier of a fifth of Germany’s wheat, lies undrained and neglected after decades of collectivization.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2011

There are earls and countesses as there used to be mastodons and other senseless, over-grown brutes roaming miserable and hungry through the undrained woods,—cold, comfortless, unwieldy things, which have perished in the general progress.

From Lady Anna by Trollope, Anthony

Related Words

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