Meaning & use
draining board
Last updated
UK/ˈdreɪnɪŋ bɔːd/
US/ˈdreɪnɪŋ bɔːrd/
Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A flat surface next to a sink where washed dishes are left to dry.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a draining board' or 'the draining boards'.
Patterns
- on the draining board
- put something on the draining board
After washing the plates, she stacked them on the draining board.
The draining board was full of cups and glasses.
He wiped the draining board dry with a cloth.
Word forms
| plural | draining boards |
|---|
Common combinations
- on the draining board
- Leave the wet cutlery on the draining board.
- draining board full
- The draining board was full, so we dried the rest by hand.
- wipe the draining board
- Please wipe the draining board after you finish.
- stack dishes on the draining board
- She stacked the dishes on the draining board to dry.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dish rack
- American English; a rack that holds dishes above the sink, not a flat surface.
- drainer
- Informal British; a shorter word for the same thing.
Word family
- drain verb
- To remove water or liquid from something.
- drainboard noun
- American spelling of the same thing, often one word.
Commonly confused: draining board or drainboard?
draining board vs drainboard
Same meaning, but the American spelling is usually one word.
Practice
Where do you usually put wet dishes after washing them?
Choose one answer.
We use 'on' because the dishes rest on the flat surface. 'In' suggests inside something, which is wrong here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “draining board”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.