drain
/dreɪn/ noun [C, usually singular]Definition
› something 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(Definition of drain noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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