- drain
- [[t]dre͟ɪn[/t]]
♦♦♦drains, draining, drained1) V-ERG If you drain a liquid from a place or object, you remove the liquid by causing it to flow somewhere else. If a liquid drains somewhere, it flows there.
[V n adv/prep] Miners built the tunnel to drain water out of the mines...
[V n] Now the focus is on draining the water...
[V prep/adv] Springs and rivers that drain into lakes carry dissolved nitrates and phosphates...
[V prep/adv] The water slowly drained away, down through the porous soil.
2) V-ERG If you drain a place or object, you dry it by causing water to flow out of it. If a place or object drains, water flows out of it until it is dry.[V n] The authorities have mobilised vast numbers of people to drain flooded land and build or repair dykes...
The soil drains freely and slugs aren't a problem.
3) V-ERG If you drain food or if food drains, you remove the liquid that it has been in, especially after it has been cooked or soaked in water.[V n] Drain the pasta well, arrange on four plates and pour over the sauce...
Wash the leeks thoroughly and allow them to drain.
4) N-COUNT A drain is a pipe that carries water or sewage away from a place, or an opening in a surface that leads to the pipe.Tony built his own house and laid his own drains.
...storm drains.
5) VERB If someone drains a glass, they empty it by drinking what is in it. [LITERARY][V n] Pamela drained her glass and refilled it.
6) V-ERG If the colour or the blood drains or is drained from someone's face, they become very pale. You can also say that someone's face drains or is drained of colour. [LITERARY][V from n] Harry felt the colour drain from his face...
[V of n] Thacker's face drained of colour...
[be V-ed of n] Jock's face had been suddenly drained of all colour...
[V-ed] His usually florid complexion seemed drained of colour. [Also V n from n]
7) V-ERG If a feeling drains or is drained out of you, it gradually becomes less strong until you no longer feel it.[V adv/prep] And then, suddenly, the euphoria began to drain away...
[V adv/prep] She felt the tension drain out of her...
[be V-ed from n] The happiness and the excitement had been drained completely from her voice.
8) VERB If something drains you, it leaves you feeling physically and emotionally exhausted.[V n] My emotional turmoil had drained me.
Derived words:drained ADJ-GRADEDAs United stalked off, stunned and drained, Liverpool looked as though they had won already!
draining ADJ-GRADEDThis work is physically exhausting and emotionally draining.
9) V-ERG If energy drains or is drained from you, you lose all energy and become very tired.[V adv/prep] As his energy drained away, his despair and worry grew...
[V n] I can help resolve conflicts that drain energy.
Derived words:drained ADJ-GRADED usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ of nHe could rest only when he was too drained of energy to fret further.
10) N-SING: usu adj N, N on n If you say that something is a drain on an organization's finances or resources, you mean that it costs the organization a large amount of money, and you do not consider that it is worth it.→ See also brain drain...an ultra-modern printing plant, which has been a big drain on resources...
Fraud trials are often complex and have become an expensive drain on the public purse.
11) VERB If you say that a country's or a company's resources or finances are drained, you mean that they are used or spent completely.[be V-ed] The state's finances have been drained by drought and civil disorder...
[V n] The company has steadily drained its cash reserves.
12) PHRASE: usu PHR after v If you say that something is going down the drain, you mean that it is being destroyed or wasted. [INFORMAL]They were aware that their public image was rapidly going down the drain...
He lamented that four years of his life had gone down the drain because of an injury to his groin.
13) PHRASE: usu PHR after v If you say that a business is going down the drain, you mean that it is failing financially. [INFORMAL]The department stores are going down the drain, victims of inner-city blight and the rush for suburbia.
Phrasal Verbs:
English dictionary. 2008.
