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.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to equip or supply with an underdrain or underdrains.

underdrain British  

noun

1. a drain buried below agricultural land

---

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 best way undoubtedly is to underdrain the land, and then to distribute the sewage on the principle of intermittent downward filtration.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 484, April 11, 1885 by Various

I would urge no farmer to plunge up to his neck into debt in order to underdrain his farm.

From What I know of farming: a series of brief and plain expositions of practical agriculture as an art based upon science by Horace Greeley

Still, the importance of draining can not be doubted: the best results follow its use, and he who would reap the best harvests, and attain the highest success, will underdrain his land.

From American Pomology Apples by J. A. Warder

If they would first put in good big sewers, running slick and clean to the river, and underdrain the whole premises, 't wouldn't be quite so bad.

From Homes and How to Make Them by E. C. (Eugene Clarence) Gardner

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 Henry F. (Henry Flagg) French