drain
/dɹiːn/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.07 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
Canadian usage; American usage
noun
An access point or conduit for rainwater that drains directly downstream in a (drainage) basin without going through sewers or water treatment in order to prevent or belay floods.
British usage
noun
A natural or artificial watercourse which drains a tract of land.
noun
One terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
noun
An outhole.
Example Sentences
- "The drain in the kitchen sink is clogged."
- "bathtub drain; floor drain; shower drain; sink drain"
- "drain hole"
- "An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex. The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes."
- ";;Saganing Drain, Vermuyden's Drain, the South Drain river, Najafgarh drain"
- "[…] the little runs and drains, that come through the hills, and to the sources of the creeks and their branches."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *draugiz Proto-Germanic *drauhnōną Proto-West Germanic *drauhnōn Old English drēahnian Middle English *dreinen English drain Inherited from Middle English *dreinen, from Old English drēahnian, from Proto-West Germanic *drauhnōn, from Proto-Germanic *drauhnōną, from *draugiz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ-, from *dʰer-. Akin to Old English drūgian (“to dry up”), Old English drūgaþ (“dryness, drought”), Old English drȳġe (“dry”). More at dry.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, dererain
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /dɹiːn/
Usage
- Canadian usage
- American usage
- British usage
- Dated
- Slang
- Intransitive verb
- Transitive verb
- Obsolete