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drain

drain

55 4.3
A continuous loss of energy, money, or skilled workers
  • noun
  • /dreɪn/
translation icon : agotamiento
  • This project has turned into a significant drain on the company's resources and manpower.
  • brain drain
  • drain on resources
  • drain on the economy

But proving fault is another drain on resources.

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Examples

  • But proving fault is another drain on resources.

  • Did you know that type II diabetes is one of the biggest drains on corporate healthcare?

  • If you make too little then you are treated as a drain on the system.

  • Third, there was a question of the the drain on the on the financial resources of the organization.

  • The movie's a drain on your cash flow anyway.

  • Just another drain on society.

  • I just feel like ever since my dad died, I've become this drain on everyone, and I hate it.

  • The exodus of American men to fight in Europe caused a drain on domestic labor.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The mass exodus was a tremendous brain drain, unprecedented in modern history.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Right now, as my supervisor told me so succinctly, I am an expensive drain on Institute finances.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

depletion
vsdrain
40 5.3

A decrease in how much of something is left, often until it is used up

is gradual, continuous loss over time rather than a one-off reduction
exhaustion
vsdrain
6 3.3

Using something until nothing is left

is gradual ongoing reduction, not necessarily complete consumption
drawdown
vsdrain
  • Specialized
2 6.9

A fall in the value or amount of an investment

is the steady loss of capacity over time rather than a financial drop
dissipation
vsdrain
1 7.7

Careless use of resources like time or money

is steady loss itself and does not focus on careless cause

Antonyms

1.6

An increase in size, number, or importance of something

Filling something again by giving more of what was used

Idioms

To remove corruption and waste from a government or company

2 4.2

Money people waste when they make a bad choice

Compounds

18 3.0

A pipe under the street that carries away rainwater

5 4.2

The leaving of skilled or well educated people from a country to work abroad for better jobs

1 3.2

Pipes and channels that carry away extra water from an area

A small basket in a sink that catches food scraps while water flows through

trap-and-drain auger
  • Specialized
8.8

A tool with a long flexible wire that clears blockages in drains

stormwater drain
  • Specialized
2.7

A pipe or channel that carries rainwater away from streets and buildings

How Severe

collapse
350 4.1
exhaustion
6 3.3
drain
55 4.3
depletion
40 5.3
loss
67 1.1

Surface Forms

drain singular
drains plural

Etymology

The noun drain meaning a steady loss comes from the image of liquid slowly running out of a container. That's why we call a long, steady loss of money, people, or energy a drain.