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

Thompson, from Suffolk, said she and fellow competitors were "mentally drained" having "received backlash and insults" since the decision, which "needs to stop".

Read more on BBC

And some families are draining their retirement accounts to keep parents safe at home.

Read more on MarketWatch

As it turns out, Gladys, avid in the occult, is keeping those kids in a trance to drain them of their energy and stay alive.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Rats live in drains, sewers and burrows, and emerge mostly at night, so counting them is nearly impossible and estimates on rat population figures vary.

Read more on BBC

She described in her essay the transplant doctors drained from her sister's arms and chemotherapy that made her once "great hair" fall out.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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