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Pour vs Drain - What's the difference?

pour | drain | Synonyms |

In transitive terms the difference between pour and drain

is that pour is to send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly while drain is to draw off by degrees; to cause to flow gradually out or off; hence, to exhaust.

In intransitive terms the difference between pour and drain

is that pour is to flow, pass or issue in or as a stream; to fall continuously and abundantly; as, the rain pours while drain is to flow gradually.

pour

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) pouren, . Displaced native Middle English schenchen, ).

Verb

(en verb)
  • To cause to flow in a stream, as a liquid or anything flowing like a liquid, either out of a vessel or into it.
  • To send forth as in a stream or a flood; to emit; to let escape freely or wholly.
  • * The Bible, 1 i. 15.
    • Ihave poured out my soul before the Lord.
  • * The Bible, vii. 8
    • Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
    • London doth pour out her citizens!
  • * (John Milton)
    • Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth With such a full and unwithdrawing hand?
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Can China clean up fast enough? , passage=At the same time, it is pouring money into cleaning up the country.}}
  • To send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly.
  • * A. Pope
    • Is it for thee the linnet pours his throat?
  • To flow, pass or issue in or as a stream; to fall continuously and abundantly; as, the rain pours.
  • * Gay
    • In the rude throng pour on with furious pace.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=January 8, author=Chris Bevan, work=BBC
    • , title= Arsenal 1-1 Leeds , passage=In a breathless finish Arsenal poured forward looking for a winner but Leeds held out for a deserved replay after Bendtner wastefully fired wide and Schmeichel acrobatically kept out Denilson's rasping effort}}

    Synonyms

    * (pour a drink) shink, skink

    Derived terms

    * pourable * pourer * pouringly * inpour * outpour * pour one's heart out

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of pouring.
  • Something, or an amount, poured.
  • * 2003 , John Brian Newman, B. S. Choo, Advanced concrete technology: Volume 2
    • Over this time period, the first concrete pour has not only lost workability but has started to set so that it is no longer affected by the action of a vibrator.
  • (colloquial) A stream, or something like a stream; especially a flood of precipitation.
    • A pour of rain. --Miss Ferrier.

    Etymology 2

    Verb

    (head)

    • Anagrams

    * 1000 English basic words ----

    drain

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-03, volume=101, issue=2, page=114, magazine=(American Scientist)
    • , author=Frank Fish, George Lauder , title= Not Just Going with the Flow , passage=An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex . The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain , as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.}}
  • An access point or conduit for rainwater that drains directly downstream in a (drainage) basin without going through sewers or water treatment in order to prevent or belay floods.
  • Something consuming resources and providing nothing in return.
  • (label) An act of urination.
  • (label) The name of one terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).

    • Derived terms

    * circle the drain * down the drain * drain fly

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To lose liquid.
    • The clogged sink drained slowly.
  • To flow gradually.
    • The water of low ground drains off.
  • (ergative) To cause liquid to flow out of.
    • Please drain the sink. It's full of dirty water.
  • (ergative) To convert a perennially wet place into a dry one.
    • They had to drain the swampy land before the parking lot could be built.
  • To deplete of energy or resources.
    • The stress of this job is really draining me.
  • To draw off by degrees; to cause to flow gradually out or off; hence, to exhaust.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • Fountains drain the water from the ground adjacent.
  • * Motley
    • But it was not alone that he drained their treasure and hampered their industry.
  • (obsolete) To filter.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • Salt water, drained through twenty vessels of earth, hath become fresh.
  • (pinball) To fall off the bottom of the playfield.
  • * 1990 , Steven A. Schwartz, Compute's Nintendo Secrets
    • When a ball finally drains , it's gulped down by a giant gator beneath the set of flippers.

    Derived terms

    * drainage * drain the lizard (vulgar)

    Anagrams

    *