underdrain

American  

[uhn-der-dreyn, uhn-der-dreyn] / ˈʌn dərˌdreɪn, ˌʌn dərˈdreɪn /

noun

1. a drain placed beneath the surface of cultivated fields, streets, etc.

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verb (used with object)

1. to equip or supply with an underdrain or underdrains.

underdrain British  

noun

1. a drain buried below agricultural land

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verb

1. to bury such drains below (agricultural land)

Other Word Forms

• underdrainage noun

Etymology

Origin of underdrain

First recorded in 1795–1805; under- + drain

Example Sentences

We must underdrain all the land we cultivate, that Nature has not already underdrained, and we shall cease complaints of the seasons.

From Farm drainage The Principles, Processes, and Effects of Draining Land with Stones, Wood, Plows, and Open Ditches, and Especially with Tiles by French, Henry F. (Henry Flagg)

The writer has seen a six-inch underdrain running full of ground water collected within a distance of a hundred feet, but this was in gravel soil through which the water passed very freely.

From Rural Hygiene by Ogden, Henry N. (Henry Neely)

"Do you think it is profitable to underdrain land?" is a question a thousand times asked, and yet is a question that admits of no direct general answer.

From Farm drainage The Principles, Processes, and Effects of Draining Land with Stones, Wood, Plows, and Open Ditches, and Especially with Tiles by French, Henry F. (Henry Flagg)

The underdrain restores the proper equilibrium; the brush-hook and axe cut away the rank unwholesome growth which thrives best in abnormal conditions.

From Success with Small Fruits by Roe, Edward Payson

Still, the importance of draining can not be doubted: the best results follow its use, and he who would reap the best harvests, and attain the highest success, will underdrain his land.

From American Pomology Apples by Warder, J. A.