Drain
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 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"
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- 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?""
- 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."
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- 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
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A city in Douglas County, Oregon, United States.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Taking care of the boy is a great drain on her energies."
Etymology
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.
* 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”).
Related phrases
More for "drain"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.