drain the swamp

verb

To eliminate the root causes of problems, especially to rid politics and government of evils, such as corruption and bureaucracy.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbdrain the swamp (third-person singular simple present drains the swamp, present participle draining the swamp, simple past and past participle drained the swamp)

present singular third person drains the swamp · participle present draining the swamp · participle past drained the swamp · past drained the swamp

  1. USfigurativelygovernmentTo eliminate the root causes of problems, especially to rid politics and government of evils, such as corruption and bureaucracy.

    In every conversation I had with Trump supporters at his rallies during the election, one impulse kept surfacing: drain the swamp.

    2024 November 11, Peter Hyman, “Donald Trump is right. There is a "swamp", but it’s the left that must drain it”, in New Statesman
    1 more example

    Why can't the Massachusetts Legislature summon its courage, and the Governor, and drain the swamp of which it is all so well aware, an act which in and of itself would eliminate many of the alligators.

    1972 February 24, Ian Menzies, “Please! Drain swamp”, in The Boston Globe, page 24

Origin

First use appears c. 1899.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

drain the swamp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drain%20the%20swamp

MLA

“drain the swamp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drain%20the%20swamp. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “drain the swamp,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drain%20the%20swamp.

Source: drain the swamp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.