DRAIN


Meaning of DRAIN in English

/ dreɪn; NAmE / verb , noun

■ verb

1.

to make sth empty or dry by removing all the liquid from it; to become empty or dry in this way :

[ vn ]

Drain and rinse the pasta.

The marshes have been drained.

You will need to drain the central heating system before you replace the radiator.

[ v ]

The swimming pool drains very slowly.

Leave the dishes to drain.

2.

drain (sth) (from / out of sth) | drain (sth) (away / off) to make liquid flow away from sth; to flow away :

[ vn ]

We had to drain the oil out of the engine.

Drain off the excess fat from the meat.

[ v ]

She pulled out the plug and the water drained away.

The river drains into a lake.

All the colour drained from his face when I told him the news

( figurative )

My anger slowly drained away.

3.

[ vn ] to empty a cup or glass by drinking everything in it :

( formal )

In one gulp, he drained the glass.

She quickly drained the last of her drink.

4.

[ vn ] drain sb/sth (of sth) to make sb/sth weaker, poorer, etc. by using up their/its strength, money, etc. :

My mother's hospital expenses were slowly draining my income.

I felt drained of energy.

an exhausting and draining experience

■ noun

1.

[ C ] a pipe that carries away dirty water or other liquid waste :

We had to call in a plumber to unblock the drain.

The drains (= the system of pipes) date from the beginning of the century.

2.

[ C ] ( BrE ) ( US grate , ˈsewer grate ) a frame of metal bars over the opening to a drain in the ground

3.

[ C ] ( US ) = plughole

4.

[ sing. ] a ~ on sb/sth a thing that uses a lot of the time, money, etc. that could be used for sth else :

Military spending is a huge drain on the country's resources.

—see also brain drain

IDIOMS

- (go) down the drain

—more at laugh verb

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WORD ORIGIN

Old English drēahnian , drēhnian strain (liquid) , of Germanic origin; related to dry .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.