What does drain mean?

drain means "emptying something accomplished by allowing liquid to run out of it". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in drain?

drain has 1 syllable: drain. In IPA it is /ˈdɹeɪn/.

What is another word for drain?

Close synonyms include drainage, drainpipe, waste pipe, run out, enfeeble. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is drain a common word?

drain is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

drain — meaning, pronunciation and 8 definitions

noun

4 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
emptying something accomplished by allowing liquid to run out of it
Synonymsdrainage
Broaderemptying
2.
tube inserted into a body cavity (as during surgery) to remove unwanted material
Broadertube
surgery
3.
a pipe through which liquid is carried away
Synonymsdrainpipe waste pipe
Broaderpipe
Narrowerculvert scupper sewer soil pipe trap
4.
a gradual depletion of energy or resources
“a drain on resources”
“a drain of young talent by emigration”
Broaderdepletion
Narrowerdrawing brain drain

verb

4 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
flow off gradually
“The rain water drains into this big vat”
Synonymsrun out
Broaderrun
2.
deplete of resources
“The exercise class drains me of energy”
Broaderconsume
3.
empty of liquid; drain the liquid from
“We drained the oil tank”
Broaderempty
4.
make weak
“Life in the camp drained him”
Synonymsenfeeble debilitate
Broaderweaken
Narrowerwaste

Other forms of drain

plural: drains·
past tense: drained·
present participle: draining·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about drain

What does drain mean?: drain means "emptying something accomplished by allowing liquid to run out of it". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in drain?: drain has 1 syllable: drain. In IPA it is /ˈdɹeɪn/.
What is another word for drain?: Close synonyms include drainage, drainpipe, waste pipe, run out, enfeeble. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is drain a common word?: drain is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for drain come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

noun

4 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
emptying something accomplished by allowing liquid to run out of it
Synonymsdrainage
Broaderemptying
2.
tube inserted into a body cavity (as during surgery) to remove unwanted material
Broadertube
surgery
3.
a pipe through which liquid is carried away
Synonymsdrainpipe waste pipe
Broaderpipe
Narrowerculvert scupper sewer soil pipe trap
4.
a gradual depletion of energy or resources
“a drain on resources”
“a drain of young talent by emigration”
Broaderdepletion
Narrowerdrawing brain drain

verb

4 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
flow off gradually
“The rain water drains into this big vat”
Synonymsrun out
Broaderrun
2.
deplete of resources
“The exercise class drains me of energy”
Broaderconsume
3.
empty of liquid; drain the liquid from
“We drained the oil tank”
Broaderempty
4.
make weak
“Life in the camp drained him”
Synonymsenfeeble debilitate
Broaderweaken
Narrowerwaste

Other forms of drain

plural: drains·
past tense: drained·
present participle: draining·

Questions about drain

What does drain mean?: drain means "emptying something accomplished by allowing liquid to run out of it". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in drain?: drain has 1 syllable: drain. In IPA it is /ˈdɹeɪn/.
What is another word for drain?: Close synonyms include drainage, drainpipe, waste pipe, run out, enfeeble. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is drain a common word?: drain is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

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drain

noun

verb

Other forms of drain

Questions about drain

Tools

Jump to

Images & video

PDF & writing

Calculate & convert

Health & fitness

AI, code & work

Learn & play

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Search

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Theme

drain

noun

verb

Other forms of drain

Questions about drain