See Also: DRAIN(law)
drain(2)(dictionary)
drain(1)(dictionary)
Drain(health)
Drain(medicine)
storm drain(dictionary)
drain board(dictionary)
drain 2, noun(dictionary)
drain 1, verb(dictionary)
brain drain(dictionary)

drain(1) (iou)



drain noun. ME.
[from the verb.]
A channel or pipe along which liquid drains away; esp. (a) a pipe for leading away rainwater etc.; (b) an open channel made to drain an area of land; an artificial river. ME.
down the drain: see DOWN preposition. French drain: see FRENCH adjective. laugh like a drain colloq. laugh loudly, guffaw.
L. Lee We found the drain blocked already and the yard full of water.
b. Medicine. A tube or wick for draining a wound or abscess. M19.
c. Electronics. (The material forming) the part of a field-effect transistor to which the current-carriers flow after passing the gate. Opp. SOURCE noun 5c. M20.
The action or an act of draining; drainage. Now only fig., a continual loss, demand, or expenditure. E18.
brain drain: see BRAIN noun.
A. Wilson At fifty-seven he could not afford..such exacting drains upon his creative energies. M. Fonteyn The drain of top dancers and choreographers leaving the country.
A small (remaining) quantity of liquid; in pl., dregs; slang a drink. E19.
Comb.: drainboard N. Amer. = draining-board s.v. DRAIN verb; draincock: for draining the water out of a boiler etc; drainpipe a pipe for carrying off surplus water or liquid refuse from a building; attrib. (of trousers etc.) very narrow; in pl., narrow tight-fitting trousers.