storm drain
- noun
- /stɔrm dreɪn/
- Both beaches lie near storm drains that carry runoff from the surrounding hilly land.
- storm drain water
- storm drain discharge
- urban runoff from storm drains
And they're telling me Noel went down that storm drain, that distance himself around corners.
- And they're telling me Noel went down that storm drain, that distance himself around corners.
Examples
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The large volume of water entering the ocean from the storm drains affects the entire coastline.
Academic text (1994) -
As stormwater begins to run off the developed site, it moves toward the storm drain.
Academic text (2011) -
It's just a storm drain.
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Suspects have entered what appears to be a storm drain.
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The cat headed straight for the storm drain and disappeared.
Fiction book (1992) -
This is the Holly Hills storm drain extension.
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We got a flow in the storm drain under Fairfax.
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San Jose's Streets and Traffic Department used to operate a fall leaf removal program to keep storm drains clear.
Academic text (1999) -
During rainstorms, the situation is entirely different, as heavy flows are observed in virtually all storm drains.
Academic text (1994) -
The city is installing new filters in the storm drain to prevent debris from clogging it.
Synonyms
A pipe or channel that carries away waste water from a place
A narrow channel dug in the ground that carries away extra water
A network of pipes and ditches that removes extra water from land
An underground drain that carries rain and surface water from streets and roofs, not waste water
Pipes and channels that carry away extra water from an area
A pipe or channel that carries rainwater away from streets and buildings
How Effective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'storm' (heavy weather/rain) with 'drain' (a pipe or channel that carries away water), yielding a drain for stormwater. This noun–noun compounding follows a straightforward, cross-linguistically common logic, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The noun storm drain shows a simple picture: storm (heavy rain) and drain (a hole or pipe that lets water out). When rain runs off streets, it goes into this covered hole and into pipes under the road, so the name means 'a pipe or channel that carries away rainwater'.