How to Use drain off in a Sentence

drain off

verb
  • This gives icemelt a path to drain off your roof.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Flip the chicken and drain off some of the grease.
    Erin Merhar, Southern Living, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Place back on the rack to drain off any excess oil.
    David Morgan, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025
  • Transfer them to a wire rack to cool and let the excess oil drain off.
    Cody Godwin, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Be sure to drain off any excess fat to keep them from getting too greasy.
    Maggie Meyer Glisan, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 June 2026
  • When browned, remove from heat, drain off most of the excess grease and set aside.
    Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Dip in egg, letting excess drain off into bowl.
    Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Hanging the rug on a sturdy railing before rinsing will allow excess water to drain off.
    Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 7 Mar. 2026
  • It is best served the day it is made but will keep for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, draining off excess juice if needed.
    Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The pasta water has cooked down with the other ingredients to become the sauce, and there is no liquid to drain off—and no strainer to wash after.
    Victoria Spencer, Martha Stewart, 3 May 2026
  • One night, Easter had the idea to riff on the pickleback, a shot of pickle brine served alongside a shot, by draining off the liquid from pico de gallo.
    Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026
  • It’s fed as Colorado River water drains off farm fields in the Imperial Valley.
    Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Other records from the district and the state describe how most of the water percolated into the ground, evaporated into hot, dry air, or drained off fields into scrubland and desert.
    Emily Cureton Cook, ProPublica, 26 June 2026
  • Overwatering can be caused by a pot with poor drainage, the wrong potting medium, or a potting medium that has become old and so compacted that water cannot drain off the roots and air cannot get into the roots.
    Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Jan. 2026
  • The curdling process used to make cottage cheese physically separates and retains the protein while draining off much of the liquid (whey), concentrating its protein content.
    Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 17 May 2026
  • Tucked inside of the park's Yosemite Valley, the Horsetail Fall waterfall comes to life for a short season each year as winter snow and rain runoff drain off El Capitan.
    Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 14 Jan. 2026
  • Magoon’s return As the final seconds drained off SDSU’s victory, Nevada coach Steve Alford turned to his assistants and began talking about Magoon Gwath.
    Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drain off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: