- [countable] 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.
Extra ExamplesTopics Buildingsc1- They were busy laying the drains for the new houses.
- a bottle of drain cleaner
- The drains date from the beginning of the last century.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- blocked
- clogged
- storm
- …
- block
- clog
- clear
- …
- cleaner
- [countable] (British English) (US English grate, sewer grate)a frame of metal bars over the opening to a drain in the ground
- (US English) (British English plughole)[countable] a hole in a bath, sink, etc. where the water flows away and into which a plug fitsTopics Houses and homesc2Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
- blocked
- clogged
- storm
- …
- block
- clog
- clear
- …
- cleaner
- [singular] a drain on somebody/something a thing that uses a lot of the time, money, etc. that could be used for something else
- Military spending is a huge drain on the country's resources.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- heavy
- major
- serious
- …
- drain on
- [uncountable] the drain of somebody/something the fact of resources, people, etc. being lost or wasted
- the drain of talented staff to the United States
Word OriginOld English drēahnian, drēhnian ‘strain (liquid)’, of Germanic origin; related to dry.
Idioms
See drain in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee drain in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English(go) down the drain
(British English also (go) down the plughole)
- (informal) (to be) wasted; (to get) very much worse
- It's just money down the drain, you know.
- Safety standards have gone down the drain.
laugh like a drain
- (British English, informal) to laugh very loudly
Check pronunciation:
drain