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

Right now the site is a lattice of hulking steel frames covering an area the size of 30 football pitches, interspersed with cranes, earth movers and drainage channels.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

Milk parsley is their key food plant and formed part of East Yorkshire's natural fen landscape until large-scale drainage in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

The man stumbled sideways, tripped on the edge of the bridge, and splashed into the drainage ditch.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

Related Words

• sewerage