drain

drain1 [ dreın ] verb **

▸ 1 let liquid flow away

▸ 2 remove water from land

▸ 3 drink all liquid in something

▸ 4 use energy until tired

▸ 5 when feeling goes away

▸ 6 when face becomes pale

▸ 7 use too much money etc.

1. ) transitive to let liquid flow away from something:

After the pasta is cooked, drain it and serve immediately.

All water tanks and pipes should be drained.

drain something from something: Drain all the syrup from the cans.

a ) intransitive if liquid drains from something, it flows away:

drain away/off: Put the sausages on a rack to let the fat drain off.

Rainwater causes flooding when it can't drain away.

2. ) transitive to get rid of the water in an area of land so that it can be used for farming or building on:

The marshes have now been completely drained.

a ) intransitive if land or soil drains, water flows out of it so it is not too wet

3. ) transitive to drink all the liquid in a container:

They all rose and drained their glasses.

4. ) transitive to use so much of someone's energy or strength, etc. that they feel very tired or weak

5. ) intransitive if a feeling drains from you, it goes away so that you do not feel it any more

6. ) intransitive if the blood or color drains from someone's face, their face quickly becomes very pale, for example because they are shocked

7. ) transitive to use so much of something such as money or supplies that there is not enough available for other things:

Fighting legal battles is draining the company's resources.

drain

drain 2 [ dreın ] noun *

1. ) count a pipe or passage through which water or waste liquid flows away:

The drain's blocked again.

a ) the drains plural the system of pipes and passages that take away water or waste liquid in a town or city

2. ) singular something that uses a lot of something such as money or supplies:

drain on: The war was becoming a serious drain on the nation's resources.

3. ) singular a situation in which a lot of people or things leave a country or organization:

drain of: The government pledged to stop the drain of capital overseas.

4. ) count MEDICAL a tube that carries liquid away from your body, for example one that carries blood away from an injury:

a chest drain

down the drain INFORMAL

completely lost or wasted:

I hate to think of all that hard work going down the drain!