a)[transitiveT]DFTA to make the water or liquid in something flow away 使流走,使排出
The swimming pool is drained and cleaned every winter.
每年冬天这座游泳池都要排干清洗。
drain something from something
Brad drained all the oil from the engine.
布拉德将引擎中的润滑油全部放掉。
Can you drain the spaghetti, please (=pour away the water from the pan)?
你把意大利面滤干好吗?
b)[intransitiveI always + adverbadv/prepositionprep]POUR if liquid drains away, it flows away 〔液体〕流走,流光
drain away/off/from
I watched the bath water drain away.
我看着浴缸里的水流光。
c)[intransitiveI]TAEMPTY if something drains, the liquid that is in it or on it flows away and it becomes dry 流干,沥干
Open ditches drain very efficiently.
明沟排水效果非常好。
She washed up and left the dishes to drain.
她洗好碗碟,放着沥干。
well-drained/poorly-drained soil (=soil from which water flows away quickly or slowly) 排水性能好/差的土壤
This plant needs rich, well-drained soil.
这种植物需要排水性能优良的肥沃土壤。
2make SB tired 使某人疲劳MAKE TIRED [transitiveT]TIRED to make someone feel very tired and without any energy 使筋疲力尽
Working with children all day really drains you.
整天和小孩打交道真是让人疲惫不堪。
3use too much 消耗过多USE TOO MUCH [transitiveT]USE/CONSUME to use too much of something, especially money, so that there is not enough left 耗尽〔尤指钱〕
Huge imports were draining the country’s currency reserves.
大量的进口正在耗尽该国的货币储备。
4the colour/blood drains from somebody’s face/cheeksused to say that someone’s face becomes very pale, because they are frightened or shocked 〔因恐惧或震惊〕某人变得脸色苍白
When the verdict was read out, all the colour drained from Zelda’s cheeks.
宣读判决时势田面无人色。
5drain a glass/cup etcDFDDRINK written to drink all the liquid in a glass, cup etc 喝干杯中的饮料
Hannah drained her mug in one gulp.
汉娜把大杯中的饮料一饮而尽。
6drain awayphrasal verbphr vif something drains away, it is reduced until there is none left 耗尽;减少;消逝
drain away/off/from• Cook the mincedbeef in a saucepan over a high heat until browned. Drain off any fat.• Dry-fry the bacon in a non-stickpan until almost tender but without colour. Drain off any fat.• Cook ground beef, and drain off fat.• Now he could hardly see the trail, even when he was among the trees and the glare had drained from his eyes.• Blanche eased herself up and Dexter watched the tension start to drain from Lancaster's body.• I got bluecircles under my eyes, and the colordrained from my face.• In that excavation, however, the water was not drained from the cofferdam.• The waste water would be drained away through a 2,000-foot tunnel, 150 feet below the riverlevel.
1especially British EnglishBrETBC a pipe that carries water or waste liquids away 下水管,下水道,排[废]水管
The flood was caused by a blocked drain.
溢水是由排水管堵塞引起的。
There’s a problem with the drains.
下水道有问题。
2.TBCBritish EnglishBrE the frame of metalbars over a drain where water etc can flow into it 下水道箅子SYN American English grate
3.American EnglishAmE the hole in the bottom of a bath or sink that water flows out through 〔浴缸或洗涤槽底下的〕排水孔SYN British English plughole
4a drain on somethingUSE/CONSUMEsomething that continuously uses a lot of time, money etc 大量耗费某物的事物
The war was an enormous drain on the country’s resources.
这场战争大量消耗了国家的资源。
Examples from the Corpus
drain on ... resources• Surely it would be a drain on Party resources that it can illafford.• A second cost to the FreeChurch of its political involvement is a drain on leadership resources.• It is a drain on their resources.• The parish is a drain on resources, no doubt about it.• As in many areas, an increasingly ageing population was becoming an added drain on scant resources.• This unexpected added drain on his resources was stretching his bankbalance to the limit, and beyond.• A costly and illogicaldrain on its scant resources.• William I had introducedknight service, a repeateddrain on local resources.
5down the draininformalWASTE something
a)if time, effort, or money goes down the drain, it is wasted or produces no results 〔时间、努力或金钱〕白白浪费掉
Well that’s it. 18 months’ work down the drain.
得了,就这么回事了,18个月来的工作就白干了。
b)if an organization, country etc goes down the drain, it becomes worse or fails 〔组织、国家等〕败落,失败
That’s why this country’s going down the drain!
那就是这个国家败落的原因!
Examples from the Corpus
down the drain• Well, there's another fifty dollarsdown the drain.• Malespeaker I fear that safetystandards will go down the drain as people seek to make most profit.• And she would die in the bathtub, her blood going down the drain.• There are fears of family life going down the drain, as staff may get only two completeweekends off in seven.• Pour it down the drains if necessary.• You might as well take money and shovel it down the drain.• It may help to twist drain rods when pushing them down the drain.• It foreclosed on the mortgages, and the mill went down the drain.• Dietitians responded by telling cooks to dumpyolksdown the drain and use the cholesterol-free whites.