drained; draining; drains
Definition of drain
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: 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
2a
: 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
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
3a
: to flow off gradually
b
: to disappear gradually : dwindle
his nervousness drained away, as it always did— H. A. Sinclair
drain
nounDefinition of drain (Entry 2 of 2)
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
3a
: 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
down the drain
: to a state of being wasted or irretrievably lost
All their hard work went down the drain.
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for drain
The first known use of drain was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century