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Webster 1913 Edition

Drain

Drain

(drān)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Drained
(drānd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Draining
.]
[AS.
drehnigean
to drain, strain; perh. akin to E.
draw
.]
1.
To draw off by degrees; to cause to flow gradually out or off; hence, to cause the exhaustion of.
Fountains
drain
the water from the ground adjacent.
Bacon.
But it was not alone that the he
drained
their treasure and hampered their industry.
Motley.
2.
To exhaust of liquid contents by drawing them off; to make gradually dry or empty; to remove surface water, as from streets, by gutters, etc.; to deprive of moisture; hence, to exhaust; to empty of wealth, resources, or the like;
as, to
drain
a country of its specie
.
Sinking waters, the firm land to
drain
,
Filled the capacious deep and formed the main.
Roscommon.
3.
To filter.
Salt water,
drained
through twenty vessels of earth, hath become fresh.
Bacon.

Drain

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To flow gradually;
as, the water of low ground
drains
off
.
2.
To become emptied of liquor by flowing or dropping;
as, let the vessel stand and
drain
.

Drain

,
Noun.
1.
The act of draining, or of drawing off; gradual and continuous outflow or withdrawal;
as, the
drain
of specie from a country; the project is a
drain
on resources
.
2.
That means of which anything is drained; a channel; a trench; a water course; a sewer; a sink.
3.
pl.
The grain from the mashing tub;
as, brewers’
drains
.
[Eng.]
Halliwell.
Box drain
,
Counter drain
.
See under
Box
,
Counter
.
–
Right of drain
(Law)
,
an easement or servitude by which one man has a right to convey water in pipes through or over the estate of another.
Kent.

Webster 1828 Edition

Drain

DRAIN

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To filter; to cause to pass through some porous substance.
Salt water, drained through twenty vessels of earth, hath become fresh.
2.
To empty or clear of liquor, by causing the liquor to drop or run off slowly; as, to drain a vessel or its contents.
3.
To make dry; to exhaust of water or other liquor, by causing it to flow off in channels, or through porous substances; as, to drain land; to drain a swamp or marsh.
4.
To empty; to exhaust; to draw off gradually; as, a foreign war drains a country of specie.

DRAIN

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To flow off gradually; as, let the water of low ground drain off.
2.
To be emptied of liquor, by flowing or dropping; as, let the vessel stand and drain; let the cloth hand and drain.

DRAIN

,
Noun.
A channel through which water or other liquid flows off; particularly, a trench or ditch to convey water from wet land; a watercourse; a sewer; a sink.

Definition 2024

drain

drain

English

Storm drain.

Noun

drain ‎(plural drains)

  1. A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume.
    (chiefly US, Canada) The drain in the kitchen sink is clogged.‎
    • 2013 March 1, Frank Fish, George Lauder, “Not Just Going with the Flow”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, page 114:
      An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex. 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.
  2. (chiefly Britain) 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.
  3. Something consuming resources and providing nothing in return.
    That rental property is a drain on our finances.‎
  4. (vulgar) An act of urination.
  5. (electronics) The name of one terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
  6. (pinball) An outhole.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

drain ‎(third-person singular simple present drains, present participle draining, simple past and past participle drained)

  1. (intransitive) To lose liquid.
    The clogged sink drained slowly.
  2. (intransitive) To flow gradually.
    The water of low ground drains off.
  3. (transitive, ergative) To cause liquid to flow out of.
    Please drain the sink. It's full of dirty water.
  4. (transitive, ergative) To convert a perennially wet place into a dry one.
    They had to drain the swampy land before the parking lot could be built.
  5. (transitive) To deplete of energy or resources.
    The stress of this job is really draining me.
  6. (transitive) To draw off by degrees; to cause to flow gradually out or off; hence, to exhaust.
    • Francis Bacon
      Fountains drain the water from the ground adjacent.
    • Motley
      But it was not alone that he drained their treasure and hampered their industry.
  7. (transitive, obsolete) To filter.
    • Francis Bacon
      Salt water, drained through twenty vessels of earth, hath become fresh.
  8. (intransitive, pinball) To fall off the bottom of the playfield.
    • 1990, Steven A. Schwartz, Compute's Nintendo Secrets
      When a ball finally drains, it's gulped down by a giant gator beneath the set of flippers.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From 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.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɹeɪn/
  • Rhymes: -eɪn

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