Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The action or a method of draining.
  • noun A system of drains.
  • noun Something that is drained off.
  • noun Medicine The removal of fluid or purulent material from a wound or body cavity.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In surgery, drainage of a cavity by a tube which opens at the surface at two opposite points, allowing irrigation and drainage of the cavity without disturbance of the dressings.
  • noun The act or process of draining; a gradual flowing off, as of a liquid.
  • noun The system of conduits, channels, or passages by means of which something is drained.
  • noun That which is drained off; that which is carried away by a system of drains; the water carried off by the systems of rivers and their minor affluents in any drainage-basin, or area of catchment, or in any part thereof. See basin, 8, and catchment.
  • noun In surgery, the draining of the pus and other morbid products from an accidental or artificial wound.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A draining; a gradual flowing off of any liquid; also, that which flows out of a drain.
  • noun The mode in which the waters of a country pass off by its streams and rivers.
  • noun (Engin.) The system of drains and their operation, by which superfluous water is removed from towns, railway beds, mines, and other works.
  • noun Area or district drained
  • noun (Surg.) The act, process, or means of drawing off the pus or fluids from a wound, abscess, etc.
  • noun (Surg.) a tube introduced into a wound, etc., to draw off the discharges.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area.
  • noun A system of drains.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun emptying something accomplished by allowing liquid to run out of it

Etymologies

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Examples

  • After pre-washing, complaints were gone, dishes are really clean and the drainage is a lot better. robertrock angrykeyboarder

    Don’t Clean Dishes Before Putting Them In The Dishwasher | Lifehacker Australia 2009

  • MARK WILLIAMS, NEWS DIRECTOR, WNDB NEWSTALK 1150: Several weeks ago, the Orange County Sheriff ` s Department held what they have -- and I ` m going to put in quote -- a "training exercise" in what we call a drainage area or a drainage pond near the Anthony home.

    CNN Transcript Aug 19, 2008 2008

  • She said contractors are dredging too many streams, transforming wild pools and rapids that are crucial trout habitat into what she describes as "drainage ditches."

    NPR Topics: News 2011

  • There need to be some improvements in drainage, dykes and dams and that sort of thing.

    Three Questions: Asian Coastal Cities at Risk 2010

  • SeveralJACKSON-PRATT drainsin your child's abdomen to help remove extra drainage from the surgical site.

    Intensive care unit stay 2010

  • Can't Post | Private Reply you are right. the drainage is not only a structural issue, but a good potential source of gray water. sammy in ny barbaroja

    green roofs 2009

  • Can't Post | Private Reply you are right. the drainage is not only a structural issue, but a good potential source of gray water. sammy in ny barbaroja

    green roofs 2009

  • Look at the report and be prepared to be shocked by the photo of the main drainage canal.

    Georgianne Nienaber: Haiti: Cholera Outbreak Metaphor for No Accountability Georgianne Nienaber 2010

  • Kasai Portoenterostomy - This operation connects the bile drainage from the liver directly to the intestinal tract.

    Treating Biliary Atresia 2010

  • Since urine from the first bladder drainage is old urine, and urine from the second drainage represents urine that may have emptied from the kidneys, the third and most recent urine specimen is usually the most reliable for analysis.

    LUTO — Grahl 2010

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