What does drainpipe mean?
A drainpipe is a pipe that carries waste water or sewage away from a building, most familiarly as the vertical pipe running down the outside of a house from the roof gutters to the ground. It is a plain, practical compound of 'drain' and 'pipe', used in everyday speech on both sides of the Atlantic — though American speakers often prefer 'downspout' for the roof-water pipe specifically. Beyond plumbing, the word took on a second life in fashion: in mid-twentieth-century Britain, extremely narrow trousers that tapered sharply at the ankle were dubbed 'drainpipe trousers', a term still used today for slim-fit jeans. This figurative use gives the word a slightly retro, sometimes playful connotation. Whether describing a rain-gutter fitting or a pair of skinny jeans, 'drainpipe' is a vivid, concrete noun whose imagery of something long, hollow, and tight has made it surprisingly versatile.
A pipe that carries away waste water or sewage from a building, especially one running vertically down an exterior wall from the roof gutters.
"Ivy had climbed halfway up the brick wall and wrapped itself around the drainpipe."
In American English, 'downspout' is the more common term for the vertical roof-water pipe.
Designating very narrow-fitting trousers or jeans that taper tightly at the ankle.
"She wore a leather jacket and a pair of black drainpipe jeans."
Informal and chiefly British; almost always appears in the phrases 'drainpipe trousers' or 'drainpipe jeans'.
Regular plural. Informally, 'drainpipes' alone can mean narrow-fitting trousers, especially in British English.
"All the drainpipes along the terrace were cracked after the hard frost."
In 1950s Britain, slim-cut 'drainpipe trousers' were so tight around the ankle that critics claimed you could hear the rain running down them — a style that later fed straight into punk fashion.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of drainpipe
Drainpipe is a straightforward English compound formed from 'drain', which derives from Old English 'drēahnian' (to strain or filter), and 'pipe', from Old English 'pīpe', borrowed ultimately from Latin 'pipare' (to peep or chirp), which also gave rise to related words like 'pipeline'. The compound arose naturally once buildings had dedicated pipes for carrying off waste water, becoming common by the nineteenth century. Its figurative extension to very narrow trousers appeared in twentieth-century British usage.
Related word forms
How drainpipe is actually used
The primary sense is standard in both British and American English, though Americans more often say 'downspout' for the vertical pipe at the side of a house. The clothing sense is informal and chiefly British, and the word usually appears there as part of the fixed phrases 'drainpipe trousers' or 'drainpipe jeans'. The plural 'drainpipes' can refer either to multiple pipes or, informally, to such narrow trousers themselves.
Easily confused with drainpipe
A drainpipe is the specific vertical or horizontal pipe carrying water away from a building, while 'drainage pipe' is a broader term for any pipe in a drainage system, including buried field and sewer pipes.