Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

french drain

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.03 in modern English

Syllables
french drain
IPA
20
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
1
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A shallow trench, sometimes lined with tile or containing a perforated pipe, backfilled with gravel and then covered over, used to collect and channel runoff water.

noun

A gravel-filled corridor with a perforated pipe running through it that runs against the foundation footings of a building, used to collect ground water and drain it away from the building's interior.

Etymology

Named after American inventor Henry F. French.

Inflected Forms

French drains (plural)

Synonyms

weeping tile foundation drain rubble drain

Questions

What does french drain mean?
A shallow trench, sometimes lined with tile or containing a perforated pipe, backfilled with gravel and then covered over, used to collect and channel runoff water.
Where does french drain come from?
Named after American inventor Henry F. French.

How to pronounce french drain

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “french drain”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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  4. Repeat and practice — Say “french drain” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.