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drain

 - 8 dictionary results

drain

[dreyn]
–verb (used with object)
1. to withdraw or draw off (a liquid) gradually; remove slowly or by degrees, as by filtration: to drain oil from a crankcase.
2. to withdraw liquid gradually from; make empty or dry by drawing off liquid: to drain a crankcase.
3. to exhaust the resources of: to drain the treasury.
4. to deprive of strength; tire.
–verb (used without object)
5. to flow off gradually.
6. to become empty or dry by the gradual flowing off of liquid or moisture: This land drains into the Mississippi.
–noun
7. something, as a pipe or conduit, by which a liquid drains.
8. Surgery. a material or appliance for maintaining the opening of a wound to permit free exit of fluids.
9. gradual or continuous outflow, withdrawal, or expenditure.
10. something that causes a large or continuous outflow, expenditure, or depletion: Medical expenses were a major drain on his bank account.
11. an act of draining.
12. Physical Geography.
a. an artificial watercourse, as a ditch or trench.
b. a natural watercourse modified to increase its flow of water.
13. go down the drain,
a. to become worthless or profitless.
b. to go out of existence; disappear.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME dreynen, OE drēhnian, drēahnian to strain, filter; akin to dry


drain⋅a⋅ble, adjective
drainer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To drain
drain   (drān)   
v.   drained, drain·ing, drains

v.   tr.
  1. To draw off (a liquid) by a gradual process: drained water from the sink.

    1. To cause liquid to go out from; empty: drained the bathtub; drain the pond.

    2. To draw off the surface water of: The Mississippi River drains a vast area.

    3. To deplete gradually, especially to the point of complete exhaustion. See Synonyms at deplete.

    4. To fatigue or spend emotionally or physically: The day's events completely drained me of all strength.

  2. To drink all the contents of: drained the cup.

    1. To deplete gradually, especially to the point of complete exhaustion. See Synonyms at deplete.

    2. To fatigue or spend emotionally or physically: The day's events completely drained me of all strength.

v.   intr.
  1. To flow off or out: Gasoline drained slowly from the tilted can.

  2. To become empty by the drawing off of liquid: watched the tub slowly drain.

  3. To discharge surface or excess water: The Niagara River drains into Lake Ontario. When flooded, the swamp drains northward.

  4. To become gradually depleted; dwindle: felt his enthusiasm draining.

n.  
  1. A pipe or channel by which liquid is drawn off.

  2. Medicine A device, such as a tube, inserted into the opening of a wound or body cavity to facilitate discharge of fluid or purulent material.

  3. The act or process of draining.

    1. A gradual outflow or loss; consumption or depletion: the drain of young talent by emigration.

    2. Something that causes a gradual loss: interruptions that are a drain on my patience.


[Middle English dreinen, to strain, drain, from Old English drēahnian.]
drain'a·ble adj., drain'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

drain  (v.)
O.E. dreahnian, from P.Gmc. *draug-, source of "drought, dry," giving the Eng. word originally a sense of "make dry." Figurative meaning of "exhaust" is attested from 1660. The noun is from 1552.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1drain
Pronunciation: 'drAn
Function: transitive verb
1 a : to draw off (liquid) gradually or completely <drain pusfrom an abscess> b : to exhaust physically or emotionally
2 : to carry away or give passage to a bodily fluid or a discharge from <drain anabscess> drains the middle ear and ventilates it —H. G. Armstrong> drain intransitive senses
: to flow off graduallydraining from a wound>

Main Entry: 2drain
Function: noun
: a tube or cylinder usually of absorbent material for drainage of a wound —see CIGARETTE DRAIN
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

drain (drān)
n.
A device, such as a tube, inserted into the opening of a wound or into a body or dental cavity to facilitate discharge of fluid or purulent material. v. drained, drain·ing, drains
To draw off a liquid gradually as it forms.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

drain jargon
(IBM) To allow a system to complete the processing of its current work before the system becomes unavailable. E.g. draining a device before taking it off-line or telling a web server in a server farm not to accept any new requests but to finish processing any requests it has already accepted.
[The Jargon File]
(2005-07-18)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Idioms & Phrases

drain

see brain drain; down the drain.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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