drain
noun [ C, usually singular ]
uk/dreɪn/ ussomething that uses too much of your energy, money, or time:
Having a big mortgage is a real drain on your earnings.
Unexpected repairs to the building have been a huge drain on our financial resources.
The company's pension liability has become a cash drain.
down the drain informal
completely wasted or spoiled:
When the project was scrapped, all our efforts went down the drain.
People feel that renting property is money down the drain.
See also
brain drain
drain
verb
uk/dreɪn/ us [ T ]
to reduce or remove a large amount of something:
drain sth from sth The government is enforcing a deal that allows it to drain billions from miners' pension schemes.
drain reserves/resources They took on work that was not profitable, draining cash resources.
[ I ]
to disappear gradually:
How can we make sure business does not drain out of the country?
The riches lured in too much competition and profits are now beginning to drain away.