drainpipe
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A vertical pipe attached to the side of a building, used to carry rainwater down from the roof and away from the structure. It is a component of a building's gutter system. 2. Any pipe designed to carry waste liquid away. While often specific to rainwater, it can refer more generally to a pipe for drainage.
Usage
The word "drainpipe" is a countable noun. It typically refers to the specific, visible pipe on a building's exterior. * The drainpipe was clogged with leaves, causing water to overflow from the gutter. * All the houses on the street have green drainpipes.
Examples
- We heard the rain trickling down the drainpipe.
- A painter leaned a ladder against the drainpipe.
- The plumber replaced the old, rusty drainpipe with a new plastic one.
Advanced Usage
- "drainpipe trousers/jeans": (Fashion, chiefly British English) A style of very tight-fitting trousers, especially from the 1950s and 1960s, thought to resemble the narrow shape of a drainpipe.
- He wore a leather jacket and drainpipe jeans.
Variants and Related Words
- Downspout (noun): A common synonym for "drainpipe," especially in American English.
- Downpipe (noun): Another synonym, common in British and Australian English.
- Gutter (noun): The channel along the edge of the roof that collects rainwater and feeds it into the drainpipe.
- Sewer pipe (noun): A larger pipe, usually underground, that carries waste water and sewage. This is different from a building's drainpipe.
Synonyms
- Downspout
- Downpipe
- Waterspout
Related Phrases
- "Go down the drainpipe": (Informal) Can be used metaphorically to mean to fail completely or be wasted, extending from the idiom "go down the drain."
- All our careful planning went down the drainpipe when the client cancelled.
Noun
- a pipe through which liquid is carried away