1
as in to pump
to remove (liquid) gradually or completely
we drained the water from the tank before cleaning it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to spend
to make complete use of
virtually drained the country's natural resources
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to kill
to use up all the physical energy of
the long hike drained us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to decrease
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually
as the city lost population, its political influence drained away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of drain
Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2025
When the peaches have cooled, drain, peel, halve and pit them.
—Robin Miller, AZCentral.com, 29 July 2025
Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2025
Previously, scientists believed meltwater generally flowed down from the surface to the ice base, eventually draining into the ocean.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for drain
Verb
In the video, a man can be seen sitting next to a drain passing down belongings, apparently pillows and food parcels, to someone inside the drain—all that was visible from the clip was a person's hand reaching up out of the drain.
—Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2025
When the peaches have cooled, drain, peel, halve and pit them.
—Robin Miller, AZCentral.com, 29 July 2025
Verb
The Alamo City facilities, owned by Microsoft and the Army Corps, have drained water from the surrounding area despite difficult drought conditions throughout Texas.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2025
Previously, scientists believed meltwater generally flowed down from the surface to the ice base, eventually draining into the ocean.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for drain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drain
Noun
-
During an extreme-rainfall event, the force of the water cascading down these straightened sluices meets with no resistance from meanders, and a river often has no way of reaching its floodplains—frequently now developed—which could absorb and store some runoff.—
John Seabrook,
New Yorker,
21 July 2025
-
The focus is on the Bangs Lake outfall control structure, which is currently maintained by manually making adjustments to the sluice gate.—
Gregory Harutunian,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2025
Noun
-
Squeezing Russia’s oil revenues via secondary tariffs also means throttling the flow of its oil into global markets where prices are set.—
Anna Cooban,
CNN Money,
6 Aug. 2025
-
The flow of light from the stars produces one tone.—
Victoria Corless,
Space.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Babita watched the laborers’ children playing astride a tunnel drainpipe, made steady by a heap of sand, as their parents worked.—
Kiran Desai,
New Yorker,
3 Aug. 2025
-
Scientists determined that the crustaceans had become trapped in the sewers some 2,000 years ago when Rome was becoming urbanized and had lived there ever since—not just below Trajan’s Forum but in an entire system of canals, drainpipes and other watery infrastructure hidden below city streets.—
Krista Langlois,
Smithsonian Magazine,
7 July 2025
Noun
-
Southbound Stock Connect saw very large sells in the Hong Kong Tracker and Hang Seng China Enterprise ETFs, with $2.30 billion worth of outflow today, though Alibaba had a strong day of net buying.—
Brendan Ahern,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
-
Ether ETFs saw more than $5 billion in inflows in July alone (with just a single day of outflows of $1.8 million on July 2), bringing it's total cumulative inflows to $9.64 to date.—
Tanaya Macheel,
CNBC,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Find a low spot in the garden where water naturally accumulates after a rainfall or an area near a gutter spout, and plant a rain garden filled with native species suited to those conditions.—
Luke Miller,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Aug. 2025
-
Moving sprinklers away from sidewalks or the street can reduce the formation of puddles, as can cleaning out gutters that could trap water.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drain. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share