DRAINS Synonyms: 167 Similar and Opposite Words

drains 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of drain

as in pumps

to remove (liquid) gradually or completely we drained the water from the tank before cleaning it

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as in exhausts

to make complete use of virtually drained the country's natural resources

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as in wears

to use up all the physical energy of the long hike drained us

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drains

2 of 2

noun

plural of drain

as in sluices

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as in flows

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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 drains

Verb

Once the cycle is complete, the dirty water drains away and you’re left with clean, wet clothing. — Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 21 Aug. 2026 Defensiveness extends conversations, weakens credibility and drains emotional energy that could have been directed toward solving problems. — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026 Every square inch of land on Earth’s surface receives precipitation, and much of it drains out, eventually, to an ocean or lake. — Natalie Wolchover, Quanta Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026 This can be in a low spot in your yard that always drains poorly, or under a roof awning or near a gutter that is likely to overflow. — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 10 Aug. 2026 The Dow closed at a record high, oil is sliding as the war premium drains away, even as Jamie Dimon warned that margin debt across financial markets has never been higher. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026 This $9 find keeps utensils in their place (literally), and this sink organizer has a spot for brushes, sponges, dish soap, and even drains water back into the sink for zero mess. — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Aug. 2026 Continue reading … DIGITAL HEIST — Coldcard wallet attack drains up to $89M in Bitcoin from 1,200+ addresses. — FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Dominguez Channel begins in Hawthorne and drains Gardena, Torrance, Harbor Gateway, Carson and Wilmington. — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

Noun

Descaling and Unclogging Uses Use cleaning vinegar to unclog stubborn drains by adding 1 cup of baking soda to your drain followed by 1 cup of cleaning vinegar, says Dills. — Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 25 Jan. 2026 Below, San Angelo gives us several methods for cleaning bathroom sink drains, her best tips on how to avoid a clogged bathroom sink, and what to avoid when cleaning your bathroom sink drain. — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 27 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drains

Verb

The first uses a special rig that pumps sCO₂ through real downhole equipment under realistic conditions.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
The Pod sits atop your mattress and connects to a hub that pumps heated or cooled water through internal tubing, with each side of the bed running its own heat zone.

— Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of pumps

Verb

If a bureaucratic process exhausts whatever time a citizen has available, then benefits are lost or rights are denied.

— Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026
That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 July 2026

Definition of exhausts

Verb

Olivia Miles, the rookie point guard for the Minnesota Lynx, wears a pair of bug-eyed sports goggles, black and bulbous, sometimes held in place by a thick strap that runs through her luxuriant Afro.

— Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Every patient wears a card on a lanyard, encoded so the equipment knows who's standing in front of it.

— Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of wears

Noun

Standing urinals in the form of gutters are found at some Roman public buildings, such as the Colosseum.

— Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026
From cleaning out our gutters and power washing your deck to prepping your cabinets for flue season and switching out your bedding, here's what should be on your home checklist as summer comes to an end.

— Alora Bopray, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of gutters

Verb

That access can be a convenience for paying bills, or a problem if one owner empties the account without the other’s agreement.

— Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 22 July 2026
Eufy Robot Vacuum and Mop Deal The Eufy Omni C20 vacuum and mop offers a hands-free clean with an Omni Station that automatically empties dust, plus washes and dries its own mop pads.

— Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 15 July 2026

Definition of empties

Verb

That figure assumes the vehicle consumes 100 watt-hours per mile and its solar panels deliver at least four kWh of usable energy to the battery during the day.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
Many facilities use evaporative cooling, which consumes water to remove server heat.

— Mark Drapeau, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of consumes

Verb

Because the coating stops being an insulator when its breakdown threshold is reached, the charge rips through it in a miniature dielectric breakdown, the same failure mode that kills capacitors and transformer insulation.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026
The forest feels healthy even though it is pockmarked with dead standing beetle kills.

— Megan Schrader, Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2026