drain
/dɹeɪn//dɹiːn/
drain noun: a conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK).
Noun
drain (plural drains)
- A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
- The drain in the kitchen sink is clogged.
- bathtub drain; floor drain; shower drain; sink drain
- 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.
- A natural or artificial watercourse which drains a tract of land.
- ;;Saganing Drain, Vermuyden's Drain, the South Drain river, Najafgarh drain
- […] the little runs and drains, that come through the hills, and to the sources of the creeks and their branches.1770 (printed in 1834), George Washington, The Writings of George Washington: pt. I. Official letters ..., page 531
- Something consuming resources and providing nothing in return.
- That rental property is a drain on our finances.
- An act of urination.
- One terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
- An outhole.
- A drink.
- 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?"1850 September 14, [Charles Dickens], “Three “Detective” Anecdotes”, in Charles Dickens, editor, Household Words. A Weekly Journal., volume I, number 25, London: Office, […], →OCLC
- What did she want with money, except now and then for a drain of white satin.1966, Henry Mayhew, Peter Quennell, London's Underworld, page 48
Verb
drain (third-person singular simple present drains, present participle draining, simple past and past participle drained)
- To lose liquid.
- The clogged sink drained slowly.
- Knock knock. / Who’s there? / Dwayne. / Dwayne who? / Drain the bathtub, I’m drowning.
- To flow gradually.
- The water of low ground drains off.
- To cause liquid to flow out of.
- Please drain the sink. It’s full of dirty water.
- Synonyms:
- bleed
- To convert a perennially wet place into a dry one.
- They had to drain the swampy land before the parking lot could be built.
- To deplete of energy or resources.
- The stress of this job is really draining me.
- To draw off by degrees; to cause to flow gradually out or off; hence, to exhaust.
- Fountains drain the water from the ground adjacent.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted...
- At leaſt, I'm ſure I can fiſh it out of her. She's the very Sluce to her Lady's Secrets;—'Tis but ſetting her Mill agoing, and I can drein her of 'em all.1693, Will[iam] Congreve, The Old Batchelour, a Comedy. […], London: […] Peter Buck, […], →OCLC, Act V, scene i, page 45
- To filter.
- Salt water, drained through twenty vessels of earth, hath become fresh.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted...
- To fall off the bottom of the playfield.
- When a ball finally drains, it's gulped down by a giant gator beneath the set of flippers.1990, Steven A. Schwartz, Compute's Nintendo Secrets
- To drink.
- 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.Bet the Coaley's Daughter (traditional song)
- To make a shot.
Proper noun capitalized: Drain
Drain (plural Drains)
- A surname.
- A city in Douglas County, Oregon, United States.
drain meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
drain in Hindi
- conduit for liquids
- नाली nālī, नाला nālā, परनाला parnālā, पनारा panārā
- conduit for rainwater
- नाला nālā, पनारा panārā, परनाला parnālā
- to lose liquid
- रिसाव risāv
drain in Tamil
- சாக்கடை வடிகட்டி
drain in Marathi
- निचरा करा
drain in Urdu
- drain, tube, pipe
- نالی nālī
More languagesFewer languages
- drain in Bengali
- ড্রেন, জলপ্রণালী, নর্দমা, জলনিকাশের পথ
- drain in Malayalam
- ഒഴുക്കുക oḻukkuka, ചാല് cālŭ
- drain in Kannada
- ಚರಂಡಿ, ಮೋರಿ, ಗಟಾರ, ಬಚ್ಚಲು
- drain in Punjabi
- ਨਾਲ਼ੀ nāḷī
- drain in Gujarati
- ખાળ khāḷ
- drain in Odia
- ଡ୍ରେନ୍ କରନ୍ତୁ
- drain in Assamese
- খাল khal, নলা nola, লোৰ lür, ওটা üta
- drain in Nepali
- ड्रेन
- drain in Tagalog
- bangbang, bambang, patuluin
- drain in Arabic
- بَالُوعَة bālūʕa
- drain in Malay
- longkang
- drain in Vietnamese
- cống
Examples of drain in a sentence
- The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.2013 March, Frank Fish, George Lauder, “Not Just Going with the Flow”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, page 114:
- The main drain of the country is the Walé nullah, which afterwards joins the Southern Ngombé and forms part of the system of the Malagarazi.1877, Verney Lovett Cameron, Across Africa, page 299:
- But it was not alone that he drained their treasure and hampered their industry.1856, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic. A History. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Harper...
Synonyms of drain
Forms of drain
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | drains |
| alternative Appalachia | dreen |
| alternative form (obsolete) | drein |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | drains |
| present participle | draining |
| past participle | drained |
| past | drained |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Drains |
Origin of drain
Inherited from Middle English *dreinen, from Old English drēahnian, from Proto-West Germanic *drauhnōn, from Proto-Germanic *drauhnōną, from *draugiz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ-, from *dʰer-. Akin to Old English drūgian (“to dry up”), Old English drūgaþ (“dryness, drought”), Old English drȳġe (“dry”). More at dry.
* As an Irish surname, from Ó Dreáin (“descendant of Dreán”), 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”).
Words formed from drain
- air drain
- brain drain
- catchdrain
- circle the drain
- counterdrain
- down the drain
- drainboard
- Drainbow
- drain cleaner
- drain cock
- draincock
- Drainer
- drain fever
- drain field
- drain fly
- drainful
- drainless
- drainlike
- drain-like
- drainmaker
- draino
- drain pan
- drainpipe
- drain pipe
- drainplug
- drain plug
- drain pump
- drain sponge
- draintile
- draintrap
- drainwork
- French drain
- go down the drain
- Jackson-Pratt drain
- JP drain
- laugh like a drain
- like a rat up a drain
- Penrose drain
- pour down the drain
- reverse brain drain
- rubble drain
- spray drain
- storm drain
- table drain
- top-drain
- variance drain
- well drain
- subdrain
- underdrain
- undrain
- drainable
- drainage
- drain away
- drainback
- drainee
- draining
- drain out
- drain the dragon
- drain the lizard
- drain the main vein
Phrases with drain
- drain pans
- drain cocks
- drain flies
- drain pipes
- drain plugs
- drain pumps
- drain fields
- drain sponges
- drain cleaners
- drain the snake
- drain the swamp
- drain the python
14 more phrasesFewer phrases
- circled the drain
- circles the drain
- circling the drain
- goes down the drain
- gone down the drain
- laughs like a drain
- went down the drain
- going down the drain
- laughed like a drain
- pours down the drain
- laughing like a drain
- poured down the drain
- pouring down the drain
- when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp
Words that rhyme with drain
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- pane
- gain
- main
- sustain
- vein
- entertain
- skein
- Wayne
- abstain
- bane
- campaign
- champagne
- crane
- entrain
- fain
- insane
- maine
- pain
- plane
- stain
- wane
- Aquitaine
- ascertain
- chicane
- contain
- detain
- explain
- maintain
- mundane
- obtain
- refrain
- remain
- vane
- amain
- arcane
- Blaine
- complain
- deign
- detrain
- distrain
- kane
- ordain
- pertain
- profane
- public domain
- reign
- swain
- terrain
Questions about drain
- What does drain mean?
- Drain means a conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK).
- What is drain in Hindi?
- Drain in Hindi is नाली (nālī), नाला (nālā), परनाला (parnālā). See Drain meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use drain in a sentence?
- The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.
- What part of speech is drain?
- Drain can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce drain?
- Drain is pronounced /dɹeɪn/.
- What is the plural of drain?
- The plural of drain is drains.
Words near drain in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: drain (page history and authors); Drain (page history and authors); drain (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); drain (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); نالی (Urdu) (page history and authors); drain (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ഒഴുക്കുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); drain (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਨਾਲ਼ੀ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ખાળ (Gujarati) (page history and authors); drain (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); drain (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-drain.ogg.
Cite this entry: “drain.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/drain. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.