drain

drain¹ [dreın] v

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1¦(liquid)¦

2¦(make somebody tired)¦

3¦(use too much)¦

4 the colour/blood drains from somebody's face/cheeks

5 drain a glass/cup etc

Phrasal verbs

　drain away

　drain something<=>off

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[: Old English; Origin: dreahnian]

1.) ¦(LIQUID)¦

a) [T]

to make the water or liquid in something flow away

▪ The swimming pool is drained and cleaned every winter.

drain sth from sth

▪ Brad drained all the oil from the engine.

▪ Can you drain the spaghetti, please (=pour away the water from the pan) ?

b) [I always + adverb/preposition]

if liquid drains away, it flows away

drain away/off/from

▪ I watched the bath water drain away.

c)

if something drains, the liquid that is in it or on it flows away and it becomes dry

▪ Open ditches drain very efficiently.

▪ She washed up and left the dishes to drain.

well-drained/poorly-drained soil

(=soil from which water flows away quickly or slowly)

▪ This plant needs rich, well-drained soil.

2.) ¦(MAKE SOMEBODY TIRED)¦ [T]

to make someone feel very tired and without any energy

▪ Working with children all day really drains you.

3.) ¦(USE TOO MUCH)¦ [T]

to use too much of something, especially money, so that there is not enough left

▪ Huge imports were draining the country's currency reserves.

4.) the colour/blood drains from sb's face/cheeks

used to say that someone's face becomes very pale, because they are frightened or shocked

▪ When the verdict was read out, all the colour drained from Zelda's cheeks.

5.) drain a glass/cup etc

[i]written to drink all the liquid in a glass, cup etc

▪ Hannah drained her mug in one gulp.

drain away phr v

if something drains away, it is reduced until there is none left

▪ I watched the light drain away.

anger/confidence/tension/hope etc drains away

▪ Sally felt her anger drain away.

drain off [drain sth<=>off] phr v

to make water or a liquid flow off something, leaving it dry

▪ After cooking the meat, drain off the excess fat.

drain ²

drain² n

1.) especially BrE a pipe that carries water or waste liquids away

▪ The flood was caused by a blocked drain .

▪ There's a problem with the drains .

2.) BrE the frame of metal bars over a drain where water etc can flow into it

American Equivalent: grate

3.) AmE the hole in the bottom of a bath or ↑sink that water flows out through

British Equivalent: plughole

4.) a drain on sth

something that continuously uses a lot of time, money etc

▪ The war was an enormous drain on the country's resources .

5.) down the drain informal

a) if time, effort, or money goes down the drain, it is wasted or produces no results

▪ Well that's it. 18 months' work down the drain.

b) if an organization, country etc goes down the drain, it becomes worse or fails

▪ That's why this country's going down the drain!

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