What does "drain" mean?
A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
Drain
/dɹeɪn/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
- Grammar: drain is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abate, ablate, ablation, abrade.
- Useful contrasts: congested, energetic class, energizing effect.
- Usage evidence: Taking care of the boy is a great drain on her energies.
How to use "drain"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "drain" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "drain" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "drain" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "drain" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "drain" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "drain", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK) Canada, US
"The drain in the kitchen sink is clogged."
- 2 emptying something accomplished by allowing liquid to run out of it wordnet
- 3 An access point or conduit for rainwater that drains directly downstream in a (drainage) basin without going through sewers or water treatment in order to prevent or belay floods. UK
- 4 a gradual depletion of energy or resources wordnet
- 5 A natural or artificial watercourse which drains a tract of land.
"Saganing Drain, Vermuyden's Drain, the South Drain river, Najafgarh drain"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 a pipe through which liquid is carried away wordnet
- 7 Something consuming resources and providing nothing in return.
"That rental property is a drain on our finances."
- 8 tube inserted into a body cavity (as during surgery) to remove unwanted material wordnet
- 9 An act of urination. vulgar
- 10 One terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
- 11 An outhole.
- 12 A drink. UK, dated, slang
"When the play was over, we came out together, and I said, "We've been very companionable and agreeable, and perhaps you wouldn't object to a drain?""
Verb
- 1 To lose liquid. intransitive
"The clogged sink drained slowly."
- 2 make weak wordnet
- 3 To flow gradually. intransitive
"The water of low ground drains off."
- 4 empty of liquid; drain the liquid from wordnet
- 5 To cause liquid to flow out of. ergative, transitive
"Please drain the sink. It’s full of dirty water."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 deplete of resources wordnet
- 7 To convert a perennially wet place into a dry one. ergative, transitive
"They had to drain the swampy land before the parking lot could be built."
- 8 flow off gradually wordnet
- 9 To deplete of energy or resources. transitive
"The stress of this job is really draining me."
- 10 To draw off by degrees; to cause to flow gradually out or off; hence, to exhaust. transitive
"Fountains drain the water from the ground adjacent."
- 11 To filter. obsolete, transitive
"Salt water, drained through twenty vessels of earth, hath become fresh."
- 12 To fall off the bottom of the playfield. intransitive
"When a ball finally drains, it's gulped down by a giant gator beneath the set of flippers."
- 13 To drink. archaic, slang, transitive
"But when I strove my flame to tell, / Says she, 'Come, stow that patter, / If you're a cove wot likes a gal, / Vy don't you stand some gatter?' / In course I instantly complied— / Two brimming quarts of porter, / With sev'ral goes of gin beside, / Drain'd Bet the Coaley's daughter."
- 14 To make a shot. slang, transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A city in Douglas County, Oregon, United States.
Antonyms
Example
"Taking care of the boy is a great drain on her energies."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "drain"?
Common synonyms include: abate, ablate, ablation, abrade, abridge, absorb.
How do you use "drain" in a sentence?
Taking care of the boy is a great drain on her energies.
How do you pronounce "drain"?
Pronounced /dɹeɪn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English dreinen, from Old English drēahnian (“to drain, strain, filter”), from Proto-Germanic *drauhnōną (“to strain, sieve”), from Proto-Germanic *draugiz (“dry, parched”). Akin to Old English drūgian (“to dry up”), Old English drūgaþ (“dryness, drought”), Old English drȳġe (“dry”). More at dry.
Etymology 2
* As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, from Ó Dreain (“descendant of Drean”), probably from dreán (“wren, songbird”) (see Welsh dryw (“wren”)). * Also as an Irish surname, from Ó Druacháin; see Drohan. * As an English surname, occupational surname related to the noun drain. * Also as an English surname, spelling variant of Drane. * As a French surname, reduced from Derain, from Old French dererain (“the last”), nickname for the youngest son of a family; see derrière (“behind”).