drain
verb (used with object)
to withdraw or draw off (a liquid) gradually; remove slowly or by degrees, as by filtration.
had drained
-
past perfectof drain.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Years of intensive farming had drained the fields of their nutrients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The sportswear giant, which supplies kits for the German team, said supporters flocking to snap up shirts of Kai Havertz, Deniz Undav and Aleksandar Pavlovic had drained supplies of the letter.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
One of Patricia’s lowest moments was when she drove her child with special needs to an out-of-state facility and ran out of gas after an auto-pay bill for $300 had drained her bank account.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2024
There were other problems too: excessive spending on showpiece infrastructure projects had drained the government’s coffers.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2024
And suddenly she had drained the starch out of me.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
