drain

1 of 2

verb

ˈdrān 

drained; draining; drains

transitive verb

1

a

: to draw off (liquid) gradually or completely

drained all the water out of the pool

b

: to cause the gradual disappearance of

drain the region's wealth

c

: to exhaust (see exhaust entry 1 sense 1b) physically or emotionally

feeling drained at the end of a long workday

2

a

: to make gradually dry

drain a swamp

b

: to carry away the surface water of

the river that drains the valley

c

: to deplete or empty by or as if by drawing off by degrees or in increments

drained the country of its resources

d

: to empty by drinking the contents of

drain a mug of beer

3

sports : drop sense 7c, sink

drain the putt

drained two free throws

4

obsolete : filter

intransitive verb

1

: to become emptied or freed of liquid by its flowing or dropping

waiting for the tub to drain

2

: to discharge surface or surplus water

drains into the Gulf of Mexico

3

a

: to flow off gradually

b

: to disappear gradually : dwindle

his nervousness drained away, as it always did

—H. A. Sinclair

drainer noun

drain

2 of 2

noun

1

: a means (such as a pipe) by which usually liquid matter is drained

2

: something that causes depletion : burden

a drain on the city's resources

3

a

: the act of draining

b

: a gradual outflow or withdrawal : depletion

a net drain from the East of five million souls

—G. W. Pierson

4

electronics : an electrode in a field-effect transistor toward which charge carriers move compare gate, source

Phrases

down the drain

: to a state of being wasted or irretrievably lost

All their hard work went down the drain.

Synonyms

Verb

• pump
• tap
• suck
• empty
• siphon
• bleed
• draw (off)

Choose the Right Synonym for drain

deplete, drain, exhaust, impoverish, bankrupt mean to deprive of something essential to existence or potency.

deplete implies a reduction in number or quantity so as to endanger the ability to function.

depleting our natural resources

drain implies a gradual withdrawal and ultimate deprivation of what is necessary to an existence.

personal tragedy had drained him of all spirit

exhaust stresses a complete emptying.

her lecture exhausted the subject

impoverish suggests a deprivation of something essential to richness or productiveness.

impoverished soil

bankrupt suggests impoverishment to the point of imminent collapse.

war had bankrupted the nation of resources

Examples of drain in a Sentence

Verb

Drain the canned tomatoes before adding them to the pot.

The swamp has been drained.

I was waiting for the bathtub to drain.

The river drains into a lake.

Years of civil war have drained the country's resources.

The city's emergency fund has been drained.

I feel totally drained of energy this evening.

Noun

The drain in the bathtub is blocked.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Army Corps’ solution was to take a meandering 103-mile river that snaked through one of the wildest areas in the state, drain it, and carve it into a ruler-straight, 56-mile 30-foot-deep canal dubbed the C-38 — not exactly fodder for the tourism board. —Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2025

In such situations, when a client has the resources and the inclination to go round after round, small municipalities have to decide whether to settle or stand on principle, draining their budget. —Andrew Rice, Curbed, 26 June 2025

Noun

Dramatic rescue: Firefighters pulled an 8-year-old girl from a sewer drain after she was trapped for seven hours in Guizhou, China. —Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 30 June 2025

The restaurant closed voluntarily to address a clogged floor drain beneath a sink. —Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English draynen, from Old English drēahnian — more at dry

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 4

Noun

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing drain

• brain drain
• down the drain
• drain off
• laugh like a drain
• storm drain

Rhymes for drain

• ane
• bane
• blain
• brain
• cane
• chaine
• cheyne
• deign
• fain
• fane
• feign
• gain

Kids Definition

drain

1 of 2 verb

ˈdrān 

1

a

: to draw off or flow off gradually or completely

drain water from a tank

b

: to exhaust physically or emotionally

2

: to make or become gradually dry or empty

drain a swamp

drained the country of its resources

drainer noun

drain

2 of 2 noun

1

: a means (as a pipe, channel, or sewer) of draining

2

a

: the act of draining

b

: a gradual using up

3

: something that causes a using up

a drain on our resources

Medical Definition

drain

1 of 2 transitive verb

ˈdrān 

1

a

: to draw off (liquid) gradually or completely

drain pus from an abscess

b

: to exhaust physically or emotionally

2

: to carry away or give passage to a bodily fluid or a discharge from

drain an abscess

the eustachian tube drains the middle ear

—H. G. Armstrong

intransitive verb

: to flow off gradually

blood draining from a wound

drain

2 of 2 noun

: a tube or cylinder usually of absorbent material for drainage of a wound see cigarette drain