underdrain

[ noun uhn-der-dreyn; verb uhn-der-dreyn ]

noun

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

verb (used with object)

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

underdrain

noun

1. a drain buried below agricultural land

verb

1. to bury such drains below (agricultural land)

Derived Forms

• ˈunderˌdrainage, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of underdrain¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; under- + drain

Example Sentences

Underdrain, un-dėr-drān′, v.t. same as Underditch.—Also n.

From Project Gutenberg

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 Project Gutenberg

I would urge no farmer to plunge up to his neck into debt in order to underdrain his farm.

From Project Gutenberg

I would advise the farmer who proposes to grow Pear, Peaches, and Quinces, for home use only or mainly, to select a piece of dry, gravelly or sandy loam, underdrain it thoroughly, plow or trench it very deeply, and fertilize it generously, in good part with ashes and with leaf-mold from his woods.

From Project Gutenberg

Where the surplus water is evidently being supplied by a spring, an underdrain made of tile pipe, 3 or 4 inches in diameter, can be laid as a means of conducting the water into a ditch or adjoining drain.

From Project Gutenberg