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

The underdrain restores the proper equilibrium; the brush-hook and axe cut away the rank unwholesome growth which thrives best in abnormal conditions.

From Success with Small Fruits by Roe, Edward Payson

The best way to cure your spot is to run an underdrain into it, if possible, so the rain-water can run through the soil freely and take the alkali with it.

From One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered by Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James)

We must underdrain all the land we cultivate, that Nature has not already underdrained, and we shall cease complaints of the seasons.

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)

The writer has seen a six-inch underdrain running full of ground water collected within a distance of a hundred feet, but this was in gravel soil through which the water passed very freely.

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