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

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

See Examples For:

drain drains drained draining

A chest tube was inserted to drain the fluid.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

The lake has dried up due to a combination of factors, including geological fissures that drain water underground, below-average rainfall and repeated heatwaves.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

"For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall," the city's Department of Environmental Protection previously told the BBC.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Check that the water entering the drain is emerging from the curb.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

A hundred times Shawn has seen me emerge from the bathroom unrecognizable, having washed the junkyard down the shower drain.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

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

Keane said the problem was at least partly down to misconnections, where plumbing from housing developments is wrongly linked to surface water drains rather than sewers, sending untreated waste into waterways.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

They are linking into sewer drains, according to people familiar with the trend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

“The floor has drains, but I don’t think much of the milk is going down.”

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

But these sights are drained of their warmth, depicted with a cold, eerie hum that, when it bleeds into the roar of suffering miles away, becomes a deafening cacophony.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026

Take Sunday Ticket, the NFL’s out-of-market package, which drained about $1 billion from DirecTV in its final season and is projected to cost YouTube nearly $9 billion over its current, seven-year deal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 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

Owen stood and watched, incredulous, as the entire pond drained away in less than five minutes.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

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

Then begins the methodical massage in circular motions seemingly draining fluid away.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Wildfires in Indonesia are blamed in large part on slash-and-burn land-clearing practices that result in the destruction of fire-resistant forest cover and the draining of peatlands.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

But she can be draining and very negative.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

All the rich scents and colors of the island were draining away.

From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown

Related Words

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