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drain
[ dreyn ]
verb (used with object)
- to withdraw or draw off (a liquid) gradually; remove slowly or by degrees, as by filtration:
to drain oil from a crankcase.
- to withdraw liquid gradually from; make empty or dry by drawing off liquid:
to drain a crankcase.
- to exhaust the resources of:
to drain the treasury.
- to deprive of strength; tire.
verb (used without object)
- to flow off gradually.
- to become empty or dry by the gradual flowing off of liquid or moisture:
This land drains into the Mississippi.
noun
- something, as a pipe or conduit, by which a liquid drains.
- Surgery. a material or appliance for maintaining the opening of a wound to permit free exit of fluids.
- gradual or continuous outflow, withdrawal, or expenditure.
- something that causes a large or continuous outflow, expenditure, or depletion:
Medical expenses were a major drain on his bank account.
- an act of draining.
- Physical Geography.
- an artificial watercourse, as a ditch or trench.
- a natural watercourse modified to increase its flow of water.
drain
/ dreɪn /
noun
- a pipe or channel that carries off water, sewage, etc
- an instance or cause of continuous diminution in resources or energy; depletion
- surgery a device, such as a tube, for insertion into a wound, incision, or bodily cavity to drain off pus, etc
- electronics the electrode region in a field-effect transistor into which majority carriers flow from the interelectrode conductivity channel
- down the drainwasted
verb
- troften foll byoff to draw off or remove (liquid) from
to drain vegetables
to drain water from vegetables
- introften foll byaway to flow (away) or filter (off)
- intr to dry or be emptied as a result of liquid running off or flowing away
leave the dishes to drain
- tr to drink the entire contents of (a glass, cup, etc)
- tr to consume or make constant demands on (resources, energy, etc); exhaust; sap
- intr to disappear or leave, esp gradually
the colour drained from his face
- tr (of a river, etc) to carry off the surface water from (an area)
- intr (of an area) to discharge its surface water into rivers, streams, etc
Derived Forms
- ˈdrainable, adjective
Other Words From
- draina·ble adjective
- drainer noun
- over·drain verb
- un·draina·ble adjective
- un·drained adjective
- well-drained adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of drain1
Idioms and Phrases
- go down the drain,
- to become worthless or profitless.
- to go out of existence; disappear.
More idioms and phrases containing drain
see brain drain ; down the drain .Example Sentences
“This was a long, draining but extremely fun season,” he said.
The war destroyed much of the country, but it also drained away Syria's sovereignty.
“It’s draining,” Smith said of seeing the vice president — a former United States senator, California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney — turned aside so emphatically.
It was the perfect analogy to our tech-driven, capitalist, corporate society where meetings, office small-talk and bureaucracy often feel like they can drain us of our life force.
“Stalling tactics in bargaining, years without a contract, and statements that inaccurately demean the entire newsroom all drain morale,” the statement said.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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