plughole

Everyday

A plughole is the hole at the bottom of a bath or sink where the water drains away. tree →

In the lessons

A British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand word; Americans say «drain». In everyday life: hair can block the plughole; a plug goes into the plughole to keep water in. In science: water spinning down a plughole forms a little whirlpool. Phrase: «go down the plughole» = be wasted or lost.

Examples

• The water swirled down the plughole. tree →
• Hair has blocked the plughole again. tree →
• Put the plug in the plughole before you fill the sink. tree →
• My ring nearly fell down the plughole! tree →
• Don't pour cooking fat down the plughole. tree →
• All our hard work went down the plughole. tree →

Note

Countable: a plughole, plugholes. The «plug» is the stopper, the «plughole» is the hole. A popular myth says water always spins one way in the north and the other way in the south; in a sink or bath the shape of the basin and the way the water moved decide the direction, not the hemisphere.