1
as in pumps
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 exhausts
to make complete use of
virtually drained the country's natural resources
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in wears
to use up all the physical energy of
the long hike drained us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of drains
Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 6 Jan. 2026
The great Amazon in its north drains large areas as does the Parana-River Plate watershed to its south that reaches the Atlantic in the estuary between Argentina and Uruguay, The San Francisco flows north for hundreds of miles before hooking a right and dropping to the Atlantic.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Chendall Weaver and Jordan Pope play some tight defense, Texas gets a stop, Weaver finds Simeon Wilcher for an open 3, Wilcher drains the shot, the crowd goes nuts, and Mississippi State calls a timeout.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 3 Jan. 2026
Rather than revitalizing the organization, the constant shake-ups breed change fatigue that drains employee morale.
—Harvard Business Review, 1 Jan. 2026
In fact, when levees fail, flooding can be worse than in areas without levees, because water rushes in quickly and drains slowly.
—Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025
Pot each division in fresh soil, water thoroughly until the water drains from the bottom, and place the new plants in a bright spot near a window.
—Rachel Gillett, Martha Stewart, 29 Dec. 2025
Once the cycle is complete, the dirty water drains away and you're left with clean, wet clothing.
—Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 27 Dec. 2025
The hotel’s owner is Count Goloptious, a kind of psychic vampire who slowly drains the residents of their creative vitality.
—Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books, 25 Dec. 2025
Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
Cold weather drains batteries quickly.
—Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 6 Jan. 2026
The great Amazon in its north drains large areas as does the Parana-River Plate watershed to its south that reaches the Atlantic in the estuary between Argentina and Uruguay, The San Francisco flows north for hundreds of miles before hooking a right and dropping to the Atlantic.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Chendall Weaver and Jordan Pope play some tight defense, Texas gets a stop, Weaver finds Simeon Wilcher for an open 3, Wilcher drains the shot, the crowd goes nuts, and Mississippi State calls a timeout.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 3 Jan. 2026
Rather than revitalizing the organization, the constant shake-ups breed change fatigue that drains employee morale.
—Harvard Business Review, 1 Jan. 2026
In fact, when levees fail, flooding can be worse than in areas without levees, because water rushes in quickly and drains slowly.
—Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025
Pot each division in fresh soil, water thoroughly until the water drains from the bottom, and place the new plants in a bright spot near a window.
—Rachel Gillett, Martha Stewart, 29 Dec. 2025
Once the cycle is complete, the dirty water drains away and you're left with clean, wet clothing.
—Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 27 Dec. 2025
The hotel’s owner is Count Goloptious, a kind of psychic vampire who slowly drains the residents of their creative vitality.
—Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books, 25 Dec. 2025
Noun
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
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Iran, which pumps 3 million-4 million barrels per day, has seen protests spread nationwide amid an economic crisis.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
11 Jan. 2026
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The acidity of the juice will hinder the activity of polyphenol oxidase, which pumps the brakes on browning.—
Kirsten Nunez,
Martha Stewart,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The denial exhausts the city’s legal options for the 2022 ballot measure, known as Measure C.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
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Ella has shades of Holly Hunter's intense, workaholic producer Jane from Brooks' 1987 masterpiece Broadcast News, the smartest person in any room who both exhausts and enchants everyone around her.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Time,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
No law enforcement professional wears a mask.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Jan. 2026
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In the video, Kravitz wears a white minidress and black flats, while Styles is dressed down in jeans and a blue jacket.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As the room empties out, the judge says out loud that there are a number of no-shows that day.—
Ximena Bustillo,
NPR,
22 Dec. 2025
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The tank empties post-ride into a huge grate in the floor.—
Blair Braverman,
Outside,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
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In this configuration, the model GPU consumes 414 watts and reaches a peak temperature of just under 70 °C—typical for a processor.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
14 Jan. 2026
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Demand for memory chips has also been surging as the AI data center buildout consumes much of the high-bandwidth memory on the market.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Storrie plays a young inmate in the film who attacks and ultimately kills Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) in Arkham Asylum.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
14 Jan. 2026
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Statewide in California, the population of between 50 and 70 wolves were responsible for 175 livestock kills between January and October of last year, state data show.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There are a number of ways to divert excess water away from flower beds, like trenching, extending gutters, or installing a rain barrel.—
Barbara Gillette,
The Spruce,
15 Jan. 2026
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Ice dams form mainly due to inadequate insulation; escaping heat causes snow to melt than quickly re-freeze in gutters, trapping snow and water and leading to leaks and other damage.—
Rae Ford,
Martha Stewart,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Constantly landing on jokes — like in its portrayal of Lockjaw and his efforts to become a member of the Christmas Adventurers Club, a powerful white-supremacists faction — siphons a sense of urgency from the film’s sketches of American unrest and white male violence.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
24 Nov. 2025
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The filing comes days after Spotify was accused in another class action lawsuit of permitting massive amounts of streaming fraud on its platform, which siphons royalties from artists whose numbers aren’t artificially inflated.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drains. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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