drainpipe

noun drainpipes · drain pipe

1. countable, uncountable A vertical pipe carrying water from the roof gutter down the side of a building; downspout. He unlatched the window and stuck his head out — there was a drainpipe a couple of feet to the left but his room was on the second floor and it was too dark to tell whether the garden below was grass, soil, or paving.

   Similar: downspout, downpipe, leader

2. countable, uncountable A conduit for carrying rainwater or flood water. Where a lot owner knows that his premises will be flooded in case of a heavy rain, unless a certain city drainpipe in the street adjacent thereto is cleaned out, and gives no notice of it, and makes no effort to remedy the defect, he cannot recover of the city damages caused by flooding his premises

   Similar: culvert, storm drain

3. countable, uncountable A pipe that carries wastewater from a bathtub, shower, sink, etc. First you should know that the size of the drain hole in the bottom of the sink is reflective of the drainpipe's diameter that has been standardized by the plumbing industry.

   Similar: waste pipe

4. countable, uncountable A pipe that is part of a device or appliance for carrying away waste fluid. For years mechanical refrigerator salesmen have delighted in sticking their finger down inside the drainpipe of an ice refrigerator and drawing it out covered with slime, in an effort to demonstrate to the housewife that ice refrigeration is unclean.
5. uncountable The type of pipe that is used to construct a drainpipe. Hold a length of drainpipe vertically and stuff a loose wad of metal gauze up into the lower end.
6. countable, uncountable A type of form-fitting trousers with highly tapered legs. At the flick of a switch I would change mode and tart up in my new Toby, a horrendous copy of a Savile Row suit, waisted, with a twelve-inch vent at the back, drainpipe trousers and a rose in my buttonhole.

   Similar: stovepipe, skinny jeans