drain

/dɹeɪn/

//dɹeɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"drain" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“drain” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,353. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,353
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)

Corpus desk

Index EN-drain · drain · English

drain · rank #6,353 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,353
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH displays

Nearest frequency peer: displays (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “drain”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “drain” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

drain vs DRI
0% similar
drain vs draw
60% similar
drain vs drip
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for drain
PropertyValue
Headworddrain
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɹeɪn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,353
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “drain”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).drainlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “displays” (#6,352), “curse” (#6,351), “ethical” (#6,355). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “drain” is #6,353. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around drain (IPA /dɹeɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,353 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for drain, with forms such as "darin", "ddrain", and "drainn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DRI", "draw", "drip", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dreinen, from Old English drēahnian (“to drain, strain, filter”), from Proto-Germanic *drauhnōną (“to strain, sieve”), from Proto-Germanic *draugiz (“dry, parched”). Akin to Old English drūgian (“to dry up”), Old English drūgaþ (“dryness… The correct English form is drain, spelled D-R-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
  2. 2
    An access point or conduit for rainwater that drains directly downstream in a (drainage) basin without going through sewers or water treatment in order to prevent or belay floods.
  3. 3
    A natural or artificial watercourse which drains a tract of land.
  4. 4
    Something consuming resources and providing nothing in return.
  5. 5
    An act of urination.
  6. 6
    One terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
  7. 7
    An outhole.
  8. 8
    A drink.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how drain appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The drain in the kitchen sink is clogged.
  2. An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex. The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.

Etymology

From Middle English dreinen, from Old English drēahnian (“to drain, strain, filter”), from Proto-Germanic *drauhnōną (“to strain, sieve”), from Proto-Germanic *draugiz (“dry, parched”). Akin to Old English drūgian (“to dry up”), Old English drūgaþ (“dryness, drought”), Old English drȳġe (“dry”). More at dry.

This word in other languages

desagüe(Español)drain(Français)Abfluss(Deutsch)dreno(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • darin
  • ddrain
  • drainn
  • drani
  • drian
  • drrain
  • rdain

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of drain - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

darin2ddrain1drainn1drani2drian2drrain1rdain2
Edit distance from "drain"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "drain"?
"drain" is spelled D-R-A-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /dɹeɪn/.
What does "drain" mean?
As a noun, "drain" means: A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
What words are commonly confused with "drain"?
"drain" is commonly confused with "DRI", "draw", "drip". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "drain"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "drain" is /dɹeɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "drain"?
From Middle English dreinen, from Old English drēahnian (“to drain, strain, filter”), from Proto-Germanic *drauhnōną (“to strain, sieve”), from Proto-Germanic *draugiz (“dry, parched”). Akin to Old English drūgian (“to dry up”), Old English drūgaþ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "drain", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

curse#6,351flame#6,357intel#6,370kicks#6,371

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

cookie7 variantswives7 variantswidow7 variantswears7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list