vt 1 a  :  to draw off (liquid) gradually or completely < pus from an abscess>   b  :  to exhaust physically or emotionally  2  :  to carry away or give passage to a bodily fluid or a discharge from < an abscess>  <the eustachian tube s the middle ear and ventilates it -H. G. Armstrong>  vi  :  to flow off gradually <blood ing from a wound> 
, n :  a tube or cylinder usu. of absorbent material for drainage of a wound - see CIGARETTE DRAIN  .
 
 
 
Similar sounding terms:  dou·rine  drown  tau·rine  torn 
 
Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.  © 1997-2024.