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drain basket

drain basket

2.8
A small basket in a sink that catches food scraps while water flows through
  • noun
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  • The drain basket caught all the scraps and food particles while allowing the sink to empty quickly.

Examples

  • She used the drain basket to prevent any debris from clogging the plumbing during food prep.

  • After washing the vegetables, I placed them in the drain basket to let the water run off.

  • The counter to my left is where I keep my knives (in a block), cutting boards, and scale, and is where I put stuff to dry in the drain basket. The counter to my right is for dirty dishes or for staging stuff for later in a recipe so it's out of my way, and where the food processor is kept so it can be used at any given moment.

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Synonyms

drainer
vsdrain basket
1 2.4

A device that removes liquid, for example from washed food

is focused on catching solid debris while allowing water to pass through

How Effective

drain basket
2.8
strainer
13 1.7

Surface Forms

drain basket singular
drain baskets plural

Morphology

drain + basket

The meaning 'a perforated container placed in a sink drain to catch debris' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'drain' (the outflow/pipe) + 'basket' (a receptacle): it denotes a basket associated with the drain. This noun–noun compounding follows a common, transparent pattern that is cross-linguistically typical, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun drain basket is a small basket with holes that sits in the drain of a sink and catches food scraps while water flows away. So it means 'a strainer placed in a sink to catch food scraps while allowing water to pass through'.