1Cause the water or other liquid in (something) to run out, leaving it empty or dry.

我们排干了游泳池中的水。

1. 1.1 Cause or allow (liquid) to run off or out of something.
   排去（液体）
   fry the pork and drain off any excess fat

   把猪肉煎一煎，除去多余的油脂。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Press the rhubarb lightly to drain off its juices, allowing them to trickle into the egg-sugar-butter-flour mixture.
   • While the sausages are cooking, remove the grapes from their stems, rinse them under cool water, drain them, and place them in a bowl.
   • Lightly drain off the excess oil and transfer to a lined sheet pan.
   • Rinse the rice well under cold running water, drain it, and place in an electric rice-cooker.
   • Do not drain off the small amount of liquid remaining in the saucepan.
   • Make sure to drain salsa of excess liquid or it will make your burrito soggy.
   • A section of the Leeds and Liverpool canal will have to be drained in November to allow further work on the construction of Ferncliffe Road bridge.
   • Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water, and then drain the pasta quickly in a colander.
   • Elevator workers drained the fluid into empty soap containers and didn't change the labels.
   • Wash them well in a pan of water, and drain them well in a colander.
   • Marinate for 20 to 30 minutes, then drain off the liquid.
   • The ice cubes can then be drained into glasses for drinking water as they melt.
   • A quick fry in a non-stick pan works well, as the skin crisps and you can drain off the excess oils.
   • He also recommended that storm water should be drained to the rivers.
   • Leave them for a while to allow the dirt to sink to the bottom, then rinse them under cold running water and drain them in a colander.
   • Lift the soaked floppy gelatine out of the water and give it a shake to drain off the excess liquid.
   • The curd mat is transferred into a cookerstretcher of his own design, which heats the curd and continues to drain off liquid.
   • However, both are good for you - just drain off the oil.
   • The special port facilities, which could be drained to allow repairs on ships' hulls, have been closed and the heavy machinery dismantled and moved to Liverpool.
   • Reserving one ladle of the pasta water, drain the pasta well.
   • To blanch the almonds, cover them with boiling water for a few minutes, refresh them under cold water, drain them and rub the skins off with your finger tips.
   • The scuppers, or the devices to allow the water to drain off the decks have been opened - they're normally in a closed position.
   • Place on paper towel and allow the grease to drain off.

   Synonyms

   draw off, extract, withdraw, remove, pump off, siphon off, milk, bleed, tap, void, filter, pour out, pour off, tip, discharge, transfer
2. 1.2 Make (land) drier by providing channels for water to flow away in.
   给（土地）排水
   the land was drained and the boggy ground reclaimed

   地里的水被排干了，沼泽地被开垦了出来。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • New equipment would be needed on the site if a new park is to be built and the land would have to be drained at extra cost.
   • In this game, the players strive to drain water from their lands by skillful placement of stones, representing water channels.
   • But today, most of this flow has been stopped and the wetlands drained to provide land for sugarcane production.
   • The plant, usually a cactus, potato plant or fern, is secured by a felt strap with a base; tubes allow the soil to drain water.
   • It all began with a swampy piece of land at the top of Liardet St, which was drained and filled to become terra firma.
   • For centuries bogs have been drained and converted to agricultural land.
   • Many have been found in reclaimed parts of Holland's Zuider Zee, after the land has been drained.
   • Camber is the vertical curve provided across the road width with a crest at the centre so that the water flows to the edges and is drained off.
   • There lies the greatest irony of the Fitzes' landscape: They did such a good job of draining the ground, they now have to water during rainless spells.
   • Wetlands were being drained so the land could be developed, estuaries were being reclaimed and forests were being cut down.
   • Further, large tracts of its marshy breeding grounds were rendered unsuitable as they were drained and cleared for cultivation.
   • The reason for this decline is that wet meadows have been drained and converted to arable land or to improved grassland.
   • Steven explains how the land has been slowly drained, reclaimed, and industrialised.
   • That's because earlier generations of farmers drained wetlands and cleared the hardwood forests to expand crop acreage.
   • Farmers' savings were sucked away into repairing buildings, clearing woods, draining marshes, and buying animals.
   • When the tide rose, the gates could be opened to admit water into the ditches; when the tide fell, the land could be drained.
   • But their most serious threat today is habitat destruction as swamps are drained and forests cleared.
   • So far from the sea, fish ponds were a vital source of food and they were perfected as boggy land was drained or dammed all over the area.
   • The reference above to root rot is cautionary only, since this disease would not be problem if badly drained soils and water logged conditions are avoided.
   • Sixteen years after Dunsey steals the money, Godfrey drains the Stone-pits for land and Dunsey's skeleton is found.
   • You can also see gullies and huge channels of water draining from the city and then running back into the sea.
3. 1.3 (of a river) carry off the superfluous water from (an area)
   （河流）带走（某地区）多余的水
   the stream drains a wide moorland above the waterfall

   小溪带走了瀑布上方一块宽阔沼泽地里多余的水。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Next on his hit list is Tibet's Indus, the only one of the four major rivers draining 22,028-foot Mount Kailas that he has yet to attempt.
   • Today, the Severn and its tributaries drain these Vales through the Bristol Channel.
   • The Axamilpa river drains this area and along its banks a sequence of Late Cenozoic sands, silts, and gravels are exposed.
   • Cascade Creek drains the urban and industrial western side of the city of Erie.
   • These dolines are the equivalent of small valleys in a fluvial system, the waters from them uniting underground into the major stream draining the area.
   • The river draining the proglacial lake carries a much lower amount of sediment than the iceberg and glacial meltwater plumes.
   • The central parts are drained by the rivers Test and Itchen, the western by the Avon, and the eastern by the Hamble and the Meon.
   • The reason that the land was so waterlogged is because the weir systems keep the Thames level artificially high, thereby affecting all the land that should be drained down.
   • Its charter granted monopoly rights to trade in lands whose waters drained into Hudson Bay.
   • In the north-east is agricultural land on chalk or limestone well drained by rivers.
   • Sheer granite peaks and deep cirques are drained by clear, cold streams.
   • As well as streams of south-west England and mainland Europe, the young salmon belong to rivers and glens that drain the western Highlands.
   • The lake has two small rivers, which drain wetland areas into the southern and northern parts of the lake.
   • Bounded on the north by the Ritter Range, the San Joaquin River drains a vast expanse of mountains south of Yosemite.
   • The Daly is a large tidal river that drains a vast area of the Northern Territory westward into Anson Bay and the Timor Sea beyond.
   • The milk had to be obtained from cows fed within an exact specified area, which included land drained by the rivers Swale, Yore, and Cover.
   • Brazil is probably best known as the land of the Amazon, the world's largest river in area drained and volume of water and second only to the Nile in length.
   • There is a proposed diversion of the river draining Lake Koroko in the Fiordland National Park, and diverting a discharge of Lake Wakatipu down into Southland.
   • North of the mountain range is the Oti plateau, a savanna land drained by the river of the same name.
   • Two rivers drain from the central ridge of Johannesburg - the Klip River in the south, and the Jukskei River in the north.
4. 1.4no object, with adverbial of direction (of water or another liquid) flow away from, out of, or into something.
   （水或其他液体）流掉，流走；流入，注入
   the river drains into the Pacific

   这条河流注入太平洋。

   figurative Polly felt the blood drain from her face

   〈喻〉波利感到血在她的脸上流淌。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • We came into work one morning, and found that the tank had sprung a leak during the night and all the water had drained out.
   • Here it was colder than Donner Summit, as the colder air from the Truckee River and Prosser Creek drained to the lowest point.
   • The two species of this family are found at high latitudes in the arctic seas and in most of the major rivers draining into them, south to the Saint Lawrence River.
   • Thus with the water drained from the land, the subsequent volcanic activity in the Mesozoic and Cainozoic would be sub-aerial.
   • Perhaps a hundred yards into the trees a wide, shallow creek drained from some unknown point in the forest into the lake.
   • Everyone who lives in the watershed is just a few minutes from one of the more than 100,000 streams and rivers draining into the bay.
   • The curds are pushed into two banks, cut into slabs to allow more of the whey to drain off, flipped and stacked three times into ever taller piles.
   • Once it flows in, the water will not drain from New Orleans because of the very levees that protect the city and that largely held during the hurricane.
   • Not very large, just enough to hold the water that drained from the local land.
   • The landscaping is expected to include drainage panels in it so surface water will drain away into the river.
   • Because of their position the water drains away and they have to be watered through the summer.
   • It bled more, the red droplets draining into the water below me.
   • As most of the land in these states drains eastwards, they were assigned to the eastern subregion in Table 1.
   • Properties in Beech Grange have suffered problems as a result of blocked sewage pipes, while others have had trouble with surface water not draining away.
   • His engineer squadron is currently installing drainage so that wet season flood waters drain away, reducing the risk of mosquito borne disease.
   • A flight of steps adjacent to the leisure building do not allow rain water to drain off the treads.
   • Of course, if a garbage disposal is not installed, the dishwasher water drains from the air gap into the drain, above the trap.
   • After the flood this water drained back into said underground chambers.
   • The rivers ultimately drain into the Joseph Boneparte Gulf, a region that supports a large commercial prawn fishing industry.
   • Local surface water drains into a number of rivers, according to Mr. Wood, with a drainage network flowing into rivers such as the Boyne and the Barrow.

   Synonyms

   flow, pour, escape, leak, trickle, empty, well, ooze, seep, exude, drip, dribble, issue, filter, percolate, bleed, sweat, leach

   stream, run, rush, gush, roll, cascade, flood, surge, sweep
5. 1.5no object Become dry or drier as liquid runs off or away.
   变干；滴干
   dishes left to drain

   放在那里晾干的碟子。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • You don't need to wrap the tofu in layers of paper towels or tilt the plate to let it drain into the sink; the liquid that is pressed out won't go back in.
   • But the program, which included such dishes as drained tuna on dry toast, was the worst.
   • What we need is integrated catchment planning that deals with the management of the whole river, its associated aquifers and wetlands, and the land that drains into it.
   • Remove from oil with tongs and allow to drain on a paper towel.
   • Each tube was inverted and drained on clean, absorbent paper, then allowed to air dry for 10 to 15 minutes.
   • The slides were removed from the Coplin jars and carefully drained of any remaining liquid.
   • He says the ditch in Holland Road which runs beside his land is not draining because it is used as a dumping ground for rubbish.
   • Remove from oil with a slotted metal spoon and allow to drain on a paper towel.

   Synonyms

   dry off, towel, rub
6. 1.6 Drink the entire contents of (a glass or other container)
   喝干，喝光（杯子等）中的液体
   the stranger drained his glass of beer

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I run to get new bottles of beer at Dad's command and struggle with my sister over the empties, because I like to drain them on my way to the fridge.
   • Mike nodded, drained half the glass, and sat it on the bar.
   • Turning a brilliant shade of scarlet, I quickly jerked free and hurriedly went back to the table, draining my glass of water.
   • Finally the last of the deserts were finished, and the last glass of brandy drained.
   • Once again back in his room he corked open the bottle before draining a long bitter drink.
   • Pulling out the stopper, she poured the thick contents into a goblet and drank deep, almost draining the glass.
   • He asked, taking a large bite out of a cookie and then draining down half the glass of milk.
   • They stood nervously at attention while Miri drained the entire glass.
   • She sat back with her water and drained it in a few drinks.
   • Tobias drained off his last glass quickly and stood up.
   • Every drinker with functioning taste buds who has had the good fortune to sup a pint of this beer has one thought when placing drained glass upon soggy beer mat.
   • She watched the new girl silently, seeing how much of the drink was being drained.
   • Cal drained yet another glass of whiskey as he re-read the note.
   • She yanked her fridge open and drained the jug of water… the juice was so salty, it actually stung.
   • Instead of answering him, WooJin took the cup and drained half its contents.
   • Sam took a sip from his nearly drained water glass and sighed.
   • I picked up my glass again and drained more of it in an effort to get rid of more of my headache.
   • He handed me one and I took it thankfully, draining the entire bowl in a few long gulps.
   • Nora patted the corner of her mouth slightly with a napkin as she watched him drain the glass of water without hesitation.
   • Lifting the glass again, he drained out the remaining contents, his eyes closing as he savored the last drops on the alcohol.

   Synonyms

   drink (up/down), gulp (down), guzzle, quaff, down, imbibe, sup, slurp, suck, sip, swallow, finish off, polish off

   informal sink, swig, swill (down), toss off, slug, knock back, put away, kill, get one's laughing gear round

   British informal neck

   North American informal scarf (down/up), snarf (down/up), chug

   rare ingurgitate
7. 1.7no object, with adverbial (of a feeling or emotion) become progressively less strongly felt.
   〈喻〉（感觉，感情）渐渐消失，减少，变淡
   gradually the tension and stress drained away

   紧张和压力逐渐消失了。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I would be worried but all emotion seems to have drained away.
   • My slight feeling of content drained away, and my heart filled with despair.
   • Finally, I felt all the frustration and annoyance draining out of me.
   • In the past she has admitted she found working on the BBC1 soap extremely stressful and her more traumatic storylines had left her feeling emotionally drained.
   • His confidence drained away and he became more temperamental and increasingly isolated.
   • As Donnan looked at the gibbering madman in the crystal ball, his anger drained away.
   • Ian continued loading the truck, but his earlier enthusiasm had drained away.
   • For a little while, all the colour and happiness drained away from our lives.
   • All my earlier anger had drained away, and I just wanted to hug her again.
   • Slowly, my anger drained away, along with, it seemed, the blood from my face.
   • Unable to find enough energy to hit a ball his confidence drained away and, with no income, he took a job folding clothes and stacking shelves for a living.
   • He once again made all the running on the restart but their confidence visibly drained away as they failed to breach the rock solid defence.
   • Her fear slowly drained away as she kept his impenetrable onyx gaze questioningly with her own.
   • And yet one would hate to see all the emotion drained from what is one of the most important days in the life of any teenager.
   • Silly little first kisses were fine for people who hadn't truly found love, but that feeling drained away.
   • Her rage drained away and she was just a little girl inside once more.
   • he asked with soft wonder, all his anger, pain and frustration magically drained away.
   • She flopped down on her bed, her emotions all drained out from her.
   • The feelings were slowly draining from her face, leaving it shockingly pale color.
   • But when I saw him beaming on TV, arms raised in triumph, some of my enthusiasm drained away.

2Deprive of strength or vitality.

他四肢瘫软，一点力气也没有了。

鲁思倒在了椅子里，所发生的一切让她精疲力竭。

1. 2.1 Cause (a valuable resource) to be lost or used up.
   使（钱、精力等）失去，消耗，用光
   my mother's hospital bills are draining my income

   母亲的医疗费正在把我的收入消耗殆尽。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Because people are getting wealthier, they are retiring earlier and this is draining an already shallow pool of available human resources.
   • Our fast-growing population is draining the water supply in many parts of the country.
   • But NHS officials insist that developing countries are not being drained of nurses.
   • The lack of rain and the increase in water usage is literally draining water supplies from the region's reservoirs.
   • Foundation hospitals offering bonuses and higher pay could drain the NHS of desperately needed workers, making dire staffing shortages worse.
   • Maxing the screen brightness and running Windows Media Player continuously drains the battery in almost three hours.
   • His entire being had been drained by the immense blast he'd unleashed on the assaulting legions, but Rakael's desperate cry for help had catapulted him out of his repose.
   • Resources are being drained and costs are soaring (from line charges as well as hardware costs).
   • Therefore, it is not in the national interest to allow people to gather in these threatened cities and drain the few precious resources we have left.
   • And because our treasury is being drained of hundreds of billions of dollars desperately needed at home.
   • These empty calories will only increase your risk of obesity and drain your body of much-needed nutrients.
   • One of the implications is that activity in the private sector could be draining resources from the public hospitals for no known benefit.
   • He had been drained of a huge amount of authority.
   • This way of meeting health needs does not create a bottomless pit into which we are forced to drain all available social resources.
   • They chose not to turn to a parallel private system, on the grounds that it would drain valuable resources away from the public system.
   • Missed doctors and hospital appointments in York, Selby and Easingwold are draining the NHS of £1.4 million a year.
   • They fear already stretched NHS resources will be further drained as the number of sick elderly people continues to grow.
   • The cost of building a new hospital and local care centres could drain the NHS of resources for patient care in the future, says the MP.
   • All the while, his huge spiritual resources are being drained.
   • A long climb inexorably drains your body of glycogen and liquid.
   • In this way the agriculture is being constantly drained and the resources go to the hands of the traders.

   Synonyms

   use up, exhaust, deplete, consume, expend, swallow up, absorb, get through, go through, run through, take up, occupy, empty, sap, strain, tax, bleed
2. 2.2no object, with adverbial (of a valuable resource) be lost or used up.
   使（钱、精力等）失去，消耗，用光
   all the money drained away from the town

   Example sentencesExamples

   • But political pressure on US regulators to clean up Wall Street is mounting as the public watch pension funds drain away.
   • Desperately needed resources are draining out of the world's poorest countries in debt repayments to rich creditors.
   • But, with resources draining away and the lease on the building set to expire in June, the board of trustees decided to make the youth workers redundant and close the club down in March.
   • This confusion could have drained away cognitive resources needed to process story information.
   • Weekly, at least £12,000 is draining from county funds.
   • A small network can see its resources drained considerably by an infestation of bots.
   • And I've had my funds drained on past tours traveling in a car or a van that needed endless repairs.
   • The campaign season has been draining and I'm looking forward to getting on with life and moving on.

   Synonyms

   squander, fritter, fritter away, misspend, waste, throw away, make poor use of, be prodigal with

3Golf
informal (of a player) hole (a putt)

1A channel or pipe carrying off surplus liquid, especially rainwater or liquid waste.

1. 1.1British A frame of metal bars set in a road over the opening to a rainwater channel.
   〈英〉（下水道开口处的）雨水篦子
   Example sentencesExamples

   • With high tides and gale force winds the drains alongside the road were unable to take the flow of water which caused severe flooding on the road.
   • They blamed blocked road drains being unable to cope with the torrential rain held back by road humps.
   • Some 300 men were employed to lay drains and construct new roads.
   • A drain constructed from sheet metal guttering was installed at the foot of each plot to intercept the runoff.
   • The road drains here were flushed out not too long ago, and the drainage system out on the fens seems more than able to cope with the rain we've had and a lot more.
   • And so the Ravenscar Estate Company set to work with hundreds of men, laying drains and building roads and offering building plots for sale at auction.
   • Residents don't need to mow their grass, clean drains or worry about painting window frames.
   • Metal drain grates on a number of roads have gone missing and are not only a danger to pedestrians but also cause damage to cars and motorcycles.
   • Run-off from roads and farmland created some problems, blocking drains and gullies.
   • Staff at the centre spent Tuesday night rescuing more than 200 toads which had jumped down drains in the road, attracted by the water below.
   • We are going to set this right first by making a uniform carriageway of four lanes, fit pre-cast drains and asphalt the roads.
   • Straight roads, sanitation, drains and fountains offered a clear and ordered view of the world.
   • It was recovered from a drain in the Road, barely a mile from his home.
   • The man lies dead in a drain after a security guard reportedly shot him during a robbery at a liquor store yesterday.
2. 1.2 A tube for drawing off accumulating fluid from a body cavity or an abscess.
   （用于从体腔或脓肿中抽去积液的）引流管；导（液）管
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Skin protection is the common denominator linking the management of tubes, drains, fistulae, and draining wounds.
   • They experimented by omitting the use of dressings and, instead inserted drains using bactericidal fluids.
   • The first lymph node into which fluids from a tumor drain is called the sentinel node.
   • Note drain and second abscess in segments VII and VIII
   • It may also present with signs of sepsis, or increased drainage output from previously placed chest tubes and drains.
   • All patients have a number of drains, plastic tubes left under the skin and fat to collect tissue fluid and blood, left in place for one to two weeks.
   • Little has been reported on the painfulness of the removal of (non-chest tube) wound drains.
   • The PACU nurse monitors the compression-bulb drain from the abdominal cavity for the type and quantity of output.
   • Two drains were placed in the largest abscesses in the right and left lobes under ultrasound guidance.
   • The surgeon places a closed-suction drain tube, which remains in place at least two days postoperatively.
   • The surgeon removes the drain 24 hours after surgery if no increases in intracranial pressure are noted.
   • The wound is closed in layers over a drain placed in the subcutaneous space.
   • The doctors therefore simply inserted two abdominal drains under local anaesthetic, and about 50 ml of fluid drained from each.
   • Tubes called drains may be used to remove any build-ups of blood in an area of the body until healing occurs.
   • Her lumbar drain and indwelling Foley catheter was removed the morning after surgery, and she ambulated in the hall later that morning.
   • Tubes, sutures and drains cover his body from nose to abdomen.
   • The subcutaneous drain is removed within the first few days or when the output is less than 50 cc's per day.
   • A tube or strip of rubber called a drain may be left in the abscess to stop it from healing over.
   • At completion of the procedure a single chest tube drain is placed.
   • You may also be given a drain, to remove any blood and fluid that accumulates around the wound.
3. 1.3Electronics The part of a field-effect transistor to which the charge carriers flow after passing the gate.
   〔电子〕（场效应晶体管的）漏极
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Each electrode is connected to a capacitor, which in turn is connected to the source and drain of a thin-film transistor.
   • A thin oxide spacer is used to displace P-type dopant implantation to P-type shallow source and drain extension junctions.
   • The switch consumes power from the battery, however the current drain, 16 microamperes, is far too low to be of concern.
   • A drain electrode layer is formed by a first passivation film with the first passivation film formed as an upper layer.
   • Process of fabricating floating gate type field effect transistor having drain region gently varied in impurity profile
   • The integrated circuit device, in turn, possesses at minimum a source electrode and a drain electrode of the same polarity.
   • A metal layer is deposited over the gate electrode and associated source and drain regions.
   • This causes a flow of electrons from the source electrode to the gold island, and from there, they are tunneled towards the drain electrode.
   • The sources and drains of the compensating transistors are connected together so that they transistors act as capacitors.
   • The island nestles between two electrodes, known as the source and drain.
   • Liquid crystal display having drain and pixel electrodes linkable to a wiring line having a potential
   • The source and drain electrodes, the upper electrode, and a signal line respectively have portions formed of a common Mo film.
   • Thin film transistor array having single light shield layer over transistors and gate and drain lines
   • A voltage difference applied across the crystal by way of source and drain electrodes then causes current to flow through the charged region.
   • An insulating layer is formed over a substrate having a source region, a drain region, and a gate electrode.
   • A second conductive line is formed in a direction crossing the control gate lines at a right angle coupled to the drain regions.
   • A comparator connects to the drain circuitry of the input transistors which supplies and offset voltage to the comparator.
   • In N-type transistors, negative charges move between the source and drain.

2in singular A thing that uses up a particular resource.

核动力是国库的一个沉重负担。

1. 2.1 The continuous loss or expenditure of a particular resource.
   （不断的）流失，外流，消耗
   the drain of talented staff to the United States

   人才的流失到美国。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Oh sure, the on-campus businesses went about their usual routine, with some making money and the ones that historically are a budget drain continuing to be so.
   • The other significant drain on Garda resources continued to be public order offences, many of which were alcohol-related.
   • However, the constant drain of talent can be a vicious circle.
   • Now U.S. taxpayers are tired of the drain on local schools, hospitals and other services.
   • The report revealed that unless there is a fundamental change in visitor numbers, the Centre will continue to be a drain on the Council purse.
   • The company has consistently said that funding the continuing trading losses is the biggest drain on its cash flow.
   • The drain of talent could be heightened even further next year after the chief executive revealed they may be forced to scrap their Academy team.
   • Even worse, these utilities are often a continual drain and national budgets, thus the need to go to the IMF or World Bank for bailouts.
   • Some experts believe the crisis will be particularly severe in Scotland, because the continuing drain of departing youth multiplies the effect of an ageing population.
   • Without that recognition, current problems cannot be addressed, and the drain of musical talent from the church will continue.
   • Dobbs' task will be to stem the viewership drain, and he says he harbors no illusions about the difficulty of the job at hand.
   • A pattern has emerged, and one that highlights a worrying talent drain.
   • This drain on financial resources limits the region's ability to continue to grow and create wealth.
   • They have drafted in a former first team coach to co-ordinate a new youth policy which, they hope, will stop the drain of talent away from the town.
   • However, it makes no sense to keep the project alive at the cost of a massive, continuing drain from consumers and public finances.
   • The introduction of upper division programs will result in new expenditures, which cannot help creating a drain on existing resources.
   • Is it the appalling language, the irregular sleeping patterns, or the continual drain on your bank balance?
   • As long as people can pursue their economic interests by going where the opportunity is, that drain will continue.
   • Police pensions continued to be a drain on the budget and support systems had been stripped back to such an extent that it would be ‘dangerous’ to go further.
   • The former controller of BBC Radio Four wants to halt the drain of Caledonian talent dripping away to London in his new role in Scotland.