drainage

noun

drain·​age ˈdrā-nij 

1

: the act, process, or mode of draining

also : something drained off

2

: a device for draining : drain

also : a system of drains

3

: an area or district drained

Examples of drainage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Fire has moved out of the Black Rock drainage and is now in more accessible terrain for suppression efforts. —Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2025

Severe debris flow are expected across roads and in remote canyon drainages on the Kaibab Plateau east of State Route 67. —AZCentral.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Permeable paver parking lots improve water quality and drainage because they are designed to gradually filter stormwater into the lot’s underlying subbase, the release said. —Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025

Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. —Emma Marsden, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

drainage

noun

drain·​age ˈdrā-nij 

1

a

: the act of draining

b

: something drained off

2

: a method of draining

also : a system of drains

Medical Definition

drainage

noun

drain·​age ˈdrā-nij 

1

: the act or process of drawing off fluids from a cavity or wound by means of suction or gravity

2

: a process of releasing internal conflicts or pent-up feelings (as hostility or guilt)