drainage

American  

[drey-nij] / ˈdreɪ nɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act or process of draining.

2. a system of drains, artificial or natural.

3. drainage basin.

4. something that is drained off.

5. Surgery. the drainage of fluids, as bile, urine, etc., from the body, or of pus and other diseased products from a wound.

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drainage British  

/ ˈdreɪnɪdʒ /

noun

1. the process or a method of draining

2. a system of watercourses or drains

3. liquid, sewage, etc, that is drained away

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Other Word Forms

• overdrainage noun

Etymology

Origin of drainage

First recorded in 1645–55; drain + -age

Example Sentences

“This should be mostly beneficial across the region, but some minor nuisance flooding is possible in urban and poor drainage areas if heavy rain showers or thunderstorms develop,” the weather service office in Monterey said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026

Prosecutors said Colony Ridge repeatedly misled consumers about the condition of lots they purchased, forcing them to spend hundreds or thousands on drainage improvements and utility connections they hadn’t known the land needed.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026

There was also a requirement that sewage and surface water drainage be handled away from the site's cliff edge.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

Their model, based on this idea, accurately predicts the foam heights at which drainage occurs.

From Science Daily • Mar. 23, 2026

“One time she ran away from home. I can’t even remember what she was upset about. We looked for her long past dark. Found her curled up in a drainage ditch, sound asleep.”

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Related Words

• sewerage