Drain Definition
drān
drained, draining, drains
verb
drained, draining, drains
To draw off (liquid) gradually.
Webster's New World
To cause liquid to go out from; empty.
Drained the bathtub; drain the pond.
American Heritage
To draw water or any liquid from gradually so as to dry or empty.
To drain swamps.
Webster's New World
To receive the waters of.
The St. Lawrence drains the Great Lakes.
Webster's New World
To drink all the liquid from (a cup, glass, etc.)
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
noun
drains
A channel or pipe for carrying off water, sewage, etc.
Webster's New World
A draining or exhausting.
Webster's New World
A tube or other device for drawing off discharge, fluid, etc. from a cavity, wound, etc.
Webster's New World
That which gradually exhausts strength, resources, etc.
Webster's New World
A gradual outflow or loss; consumption or depletion.
The drain of young talent by emigration.
American Heritage
idiom
down the drain
- To or into the condition of being wasted or lost:
All of our best laid plans are down the drain.
American Heritage
down the drain
- lost in a wasteful, heedless way
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Drain
Origin of Drain
-
Middle English dreinen (verb) from Old English drēahnian (“to drain, strain, filter”), from Proto-Germanic *draug- (“dry”), akin to Old English drūgian (“to dry up”), drūgaþ (“dryness, drought”), Old English drȳge (“dry”). More at dry
From Wiktionary
Middle English dreinen to strain, drain from Old English drēahnian
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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