What's the difference between ditch and drain?

Ditch


Definition:

  • (n.) A trench made in the earth by digging, particularly a trench for draining wet land, for guarding or fencing inclosures, or for preventing an approach to a town or fortress. In the latter sense, it is called also a moat or a fosse.
  • (n.) Any long, narrow receptacle for water on the surface of the earth.
  • (v. t.) To dig a ditch or ditches in; to drain by a ditch or ditches; as, to ditch moist land.
  • (v. t.) To surround with a ditch.
  • (v. t.) To throw into a ditch; as, the engine was ditched and turned on its side.
  • (v. i.) To dig a ditch or ditches.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) This year's IPO frenzy has shown further signs of fading, as yet another company ditched plans to list its shares on the London stock exchange.
  • (2) But the last people you'd rely on are those who dug the ditch and shoved you in – particularly when they're still building and still shoving.
  • (3) Plans for the pipeline to come onshore in Brindisi were ditched following local opposition.
  • (4) But in a last-ditch effort, his lawyers lodged an appeal for clemency on Monday morning.
  • (5) Now he must go | Momodou Musa Touray Read more As midday and 4pm deadlines to go passed on Friday, two regional leaders arrived in the capital, Banjul, in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to persuade him to step down.
  • (6) In Barcelona, where last-ditch negotiations are taking place, it became clear today the best hope for Copenhagen is a "politically binding" agreement, which rich countries hope will have all the key elements of the final deal, including specific targets and timetables for greenhouse gas emissions cuts and money for poor countries to cope with climate change.
  • (7) In a last-ditch attempt to overturn the award of the west coast rail franchise to FirstGroup, Virgin Trains co-owner Sir Richard Branson has offered to run the service "for free" to allow time for parliamentary scrutiny of the decision.
  • (8) Time to scrap all honours everywhere, including UK.” Australians had their chance to ditch the monarchy in 1999.
  • (9) By removing the safeguards on [the total number of] hours [a trainee medic can be told to work], doctors will be working unsafe hours, leading to poor patient care.” One source involved in helping to formulate Hunt’s new offer said it represented a serious move to break the impasse over the pay and conditions of NHS medics and is his “last-ditch attempt to resolve the junior doctors dispute” before the ballot produces a widely expected mandate for action.
  • (10) phi PS5, a double-stranded DNA bacteriophage of Pseudomonas stutzeri JM604 that adsorbs specifically to the outer-membrane protein NosA, was isolated from stagnant irrigation ditch water.
  • (11) We will have another financial shock – it’s inevitable.” Gary Greenwood, analyst at Shore Capital, described the results as “dismal” and noted the bank was ditching targets previously set to measure returns to shareholders.
  • (12) Geoff Reid Bradford • Is the Jeremy Hunt who stated that “We need to have an honest discussion about the purpose of A&E departments” ( Hunt ditches target as A&E crisis deepens , 10 January) the same Jeremy Hunt who took his own child to A&E with a minor illness because he didn’t want to wait for a GP appointment?
  • (13) The chancellor stressed that Britain’s relationship with the EU would remain unchanged for the time being – and ditched the idea, launched alongside his predecessor Alistair Darling during the campaign – that an emergency budget would be necessary within weeks, as Brexit slams the brakes on the economy.
  • (14) 5) Playing dirty helps win the day Three days before the vote, a panicking no campaign organised a last-ditch rally at the Place du Canada in Montreal.
  • (15) The head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) yesterday urged diplomats to stop bickering about a mini package of liberalisation designed to boost global commerce and warned of serious damage to the 20-year-old institution if last-ditch talks failed.
  • (16) A humiliated Trierweiler was publicly ditched by Hollande in a terse 18-word statement announcing that he was “putting an end” to their “shared life”.
  • (17) He took Jessica's mobile out of her pocket; he carried their bodies down the stairs and, after checking no one was around, bundled them into the cramped boot of his car, bending their legs to fit them in; he collected petrol and bin bags (to protect his feet and thus conceal evidence); he drove to Lakenheath and found a lonely track; he got out where the vegetation grew thickly and he rolled the two girls down into the ditch; he climbed into the ditch and cut off their clothing - their red football shirts and their tracksuit trousers, their knickers, Holly's black bra which she and her mother had bought the day before - and then he poured petrol over their bodies and threw on a match.
  • (18) On information known publicly, one Tamil man was detained when he came to Australia because he was a lawyer for the LTTE’s civil administration, another because he dug ditches on LTTE orders for civilian Tamils to shelter in during air raids by government aircraft.
  • (19) The railway staff left to pick up the pieces are being set up as scapegoats with ludicrous claims about Spanish practices and out-of-control pay, but our members have already been paying with their jobs as the privateers ditch frontline staff to maintain profits.
  • (20) The US secretary of state was due to hold late-night talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in a last-ditch attempt to break the deadlock on unresolved issues.

Drain


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To draw off by degrees; to cause to flow gradually out or off; hence, to cause the exhaustion of.
  • (v. t.) To exhaust of liquid contents by drawing them off; to make gradually dry or empty; to remove surface water, as from streets, by gutters, etc.; to deprive of moisture; hence, to exhaust; to empty of wealth, resources, or the like; as, to drain a country of its specie.
  • (v. t.) To filter.
  • (v. i.) To flow gradually; as, the water of low ground drains off.
  • (v. i.) To become emptied of liquor by flowing or dropping; as, let the vessel stand and drain.
  • (n.) The act of draining, or of drawing off; gradual and continuous outflow or withdrawal; as, the drain of specie from a country.
  • (n.) That means of which anything is drained; a channel; a trench; a water course; a sewer; a sink.
  • (n.) The grain from the mashing tub; as, brewers' drains.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) In one of the cirrhotic patients, postmortem correlation of sonographic, angiographic, and pathological findings showed that the dilated vessels seen on sonography were cystic veins draining normally into the portal vein rather than portosystemic anastomoses.
  • (2) Intraperitoneal drain should therefore be used when choledochus has been explored.
  • (3) It is usually associated with a left superior caval vein draining into the coronary sinus and is frequently part of a complex congenital malformation of the heart.
  • (4) Ovarian venous concentrations of these four steroids from the side draining the tumor-bearing ovary were increased in 40 to 80% of the women.
  • (5) Radioactive lactic acid was detected in the drained perfusion solution with D(U-14C)-glucose, but not when D(U-14C)-fructose was used.
  • (6) Draining of thin films has thus a dehydrating effect as well as a sorting and ordering effect.
  • (7) Regarding ureters read as true positives on indirect study, if that ureter has ever shown reflux at any time, or if it drained a scarred kidney specificity was improved to 97% without changing the sensitivity.
  • (8) In tests on 13 cells pacing at a 200 mua drain without recharging, the simulated mean duration of pacing before total discharge was 4.8 years.
  • (9) An abscess of a lingual tonsil should be drained under general anesthesia, and lingual thyroid should be treated conservatively unless it produces obstructive symptoms.
  • (10) Among them 8 cases were coelio-drained for 24 hours with very little thin bloody drainage.
  • (11) Lymphocytes obtained from lymph nodes draining foot pads infected with R. conorii or R. akari demonstrated cross-reactivity similar to that found with immune spleen cells.
  • (12) The experiments show that the single cephalad channel venous island flap is perfused by and drains through its single cephalad vein.
  • (13) But it has a tainted reputation: the 2007 foot and mouth outbreak was traced to a leak from Pirbright’s drains.
  • (14) The well drained soils of the Suiá--Missu forest are very uniform, deep latosols (oxisols) of very dystrophic nature with pH (in water) between 4.0 and 5.0 (see table 2, p. 203).
  • (15) That would mark a controversial break from its existing policy, whereby the ECB offsets bond purchases by draining liquidity from the system in separate operations.
  • (16) In 13 growing pigs (mini-pigs) all veins draining the head of femur were ligated intra-abdominally.
  • (17) However, we demonstrate that topical exposure to DNTB causes activation of the draining lymph node in mice and the induction of contact sensitization in both rodents and a single human volunteer.
  • (18) The malformations over the surface drain into the superior sagittal sinus.
  • (19) Our current recommendation for initial treatment is excision of the primary tumor followed by irradiation with generous fields to include the primary tumor site and draining regional lymphatics to doses of 46-50 Gy in 2 Gy fractions.
  • (20) The region was perfused at constant flow through the aorta and drained at constant pressure from the inferior vena cava.