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draw
[ draw ]
verb (used with object)
- to cause to move in a particular direction by or as if by a pulling force; pull; drag (often followed by along, away, in, out, or off ).
- to bring, take, or pull out, as from a receptacle or source:
to draw water from a well.
- to bring toward oneself or itself, as by inherent force or influence; attract:
The concert drew a large audience.
- to sketch (someone or something) in lines or words; delineate; depict:
to draw a vase with charcoal; to draw the comedy's characters with skill.
- to compose or create (a picture) in lines.
- to mark or lay out; trace:
to draw perpendicular lines.
- to frame or formulate:
to draw a distinction.
- to write out in legal form (sometimes followed by up ):
Draw up the contract.
- to inhale or suck in:
to draw liquid through a straw.
- to derive or use, as from a source:
to draw inspiration from Shakespeare.
- to deduce; infer:
to draw a conclusion.
- to get, take, or receive, as from a source:
to draw interest on a savings account; to draw a salary of $600 a week.
- to withdraw funds from a drawing account, especially against future commissions on sales.
- to produce; bring in:
The deposits draw interest.
- to disembowel:
to draw a turkey.
- to drain:
to draw a pond.
- to pull out to full or greater length; make by attenuating; stretch:
to draw filaments of molten glass.
- to bend (a bow) by pulling back its string in preparation for shooting an arrow.
- to choose or to have assigned to one at random, by or as by picking an unseen number, item, etc.:
Let's draw straws to see who has to wash the car.
- Metalworking. to form or reduce the sectional area of (a wire, tube, etc.) by pulling through a die.
- to wrinkle or shrink by contraction.
- Medicine/Medical. to cause to discharge:
to draw an abscess by a poultice.
- to obtain (rations, clothing, equipment, weapons, or ammunition) from an issuing agency, as an army quartermaster.
- Nautical. (of a vessel) to need (a specific depth of water) to float:
She draws six feet.
- to leave (a contest) undecided; finish with neither side winning, as in a tie.
- Cards.
- to take or be dealt (a card or cards) from the pack.
- Bridge. to remove the outstanding cards in (a given suit) by leading that suit:
He had to draw spades first in order to make the contract.
- Billiards. to cause (a cue ball) to recoil after impact by giving it a backward spin on the stroke.
- Northeastern U.S. (chiefly New England). to haul; cart.
- Hunting. to search (a covert) for game.
- Cricket. to play (a ball) with a bat held at an angle in order to deflect the ball between the wicket and the legs.
- Curling. to slide (the stone) gently.
- to steep (tea) in boiling water.
- to form or shape (glass) as it comes from the furnace by stretching.
verb (used without object)
- to exert a pulling, moving, or attracting force:
A sail draws by being properly trimmed and filled with wind.
- to move or pass, especially slowly or continuously, as under a pulling force (often followed by on, off, out, etc.):
The day draws near.
- to take out a sword, pistol, etc., for action.
- to hold a drawing, lottery, or the like:
to draw for prizes.
- to sketch or to trace figures; create a picture or depict by sketching.
- to be skilled in or practice the art of sketching:
I can't paint, but I can draw.
- to shrink or contract (often followed by up ).
- to make a demand (usually followed by on or upon ):
to draw on one's imagination.
- Medicine/Medical.
- to act as an irritant; cause blisters.
- to cause blood, pus, or the like to gather at a specific point.
- to produce or permit a draft, as a pipe or flue.
- to leave a contest undecided; tie.
- Hunting. (of a hound)
- to search a covert for game.
- to follow a game animal by its scent.
- to attract customers, an audience, etc.:
Our newspaper advertisement drew very well.
- to pull back the string of a bow in preparation for shooting an arrow.
noun
- an act of drawing.
- something that attracts customers, an audience, etc.
- something that is moved by being drawn, as the movable part of a drawbridge.
- something that is chosen or drawn at random, as a lot or chance.
- a contest that ends in a tie; an undecided contest.
- Also called draw play. Football. a play in which the quarterback fades as if to pass and then hands the ball to a back, usually the fullback, who is running toward the line of scrimmage.
- Poker.
- a card or cards taken or dealt from the pack.
- Physical Geography.
- a small, natural drainageway with a shallow bed; gully.
- the dry bed of a stream.
- Chiefly Western U.S. a coulee; ravine.
- the pull necessary to draw a bow to its full extent.
- an amount regularly drawn, as from a drawing account.
- a fund, as an expense account or credit line, from which money may be withdrawn when needed.
- Horology. the tendency of a tooth of an escape wheel to force toward the center of the wheel a pallet engaging with it.
verb phrase
- to move or begin to move away:
He drew his hand away from the hot stove.
- to move farther ahead:
The lead runner gradually drew away from his competitor.
- to gradually pass something moving in the same direction.
- Nautical. (of the wind) to blow from a direction closer to that in which a vessel is moving; haul forward. Compare veer 1( def 2b ).
- to come nearer; approach:
He sensed winter drawing on.
- to clothe oneself in:
She drew on her cape and gloves.
- Nautical. (of a vessel) to gain on (another vessel).
- to utilize or make use of, especially as a source:
The biography has drawn heavily on personal interviews.
- to move back or away.
- to deplete or be depleted through use or consumption:
to draw down crude-oil supplies.
- to cause to take part or enter, especially unwittingly:
I heard them debating the point, but I avoided being drawn in.
- to make a rough sketch of:
to draw in a person's figure against the landscape background.
- to devise or formulate; draft, especially in legal form or as a formal proposal:
to draw up a will.
- to put into position; arrange in order or formation:
The officer drew up his men.
- to bring or come to a stop; halt:
Their car drew up at the curb.
- to pull out; remove.
- to prolong; lengthen.
- to persuade to speak:
You'll find she's quite interesting if you take the trouble to draw her out.
- Nautical. (of a vessel) to move away from (sometimes followed by from ):
The boat drew out from the wharf.
- to take (money) from a place of deposit:
She drew her money out of the bank and invested it in bonds.
draw
/ drɔː /
verb
- to cause (a person or thing) to move towards or away by pulling
- to bring, take, or pull (something) out, as from a drawer, holster, etc
- tr to extract or pull or take out
to draw a card from a pack
to draw teeth
- troften foll byoff to take (liquid) out of a cask, keg, tank, etc, by means of a tap
- intr to move, go, or proceed, esp in a specified direction
to draw alongside
- tr to attract or elicit
to draw a crowd
draw attention
- tr to cause to flow
to draw blood
- to depict or sketch (a form, figure, picture, etc) in lines, as with a pencil or pen, esp without the use of colour; delineate
- tr to make, formulate, or derive
to draw conclusions, comparisons, parallels
- tr to write (a legal document) in proper form
- trsometimes foll byin to suck or take in (air, liquid, etc)
to draw a breath
- intr to induce or allow a draught to carry off air, smoke, etc
the flue draws well
- tr to take or receive from a source
to draw money from the bank
- tr to earn
draw interest
- tr finance to write out (a bill of exchange or promissory note)
to draw a cheque
- tr to choose at random
to draw lots
- tr to reduce the diameter of (a wire or metal rod) by pulling it through a die
- tr to shape (a sheet of metal or glass) by rolling, by pulling it through a die or by stretching
- archery to bend (a bow) by pulling the string
- to steep (tea) or (of tea) to steep in boiling water
- tr to disembowel
draw a chicken
- tr to cause (pus, blood, etc) to discharge from an abscess or wound
- intr (of two teams, contestants, etc) to finish a game with an equal number of points, goals, etc; tie
- tr bridge whist to keep leading a suit in order to force out (all outstanding cards)
- draw trumpsbridge whist to play the trump suit until the opponents have none left
- tr billiards to cause (the cue ball) to spin back after a direct impact with another ball by applying backspin when making the stroke
- tr to search (a place) in order to find wild animals, game, etc, for hunting
- golf to cause (a golf ball) to move with a controlled right-to-left trajectory or (of a golf ball) to veer gradually from right to left
- tr curling to deliver (the stone) gently
- tr nautical (of a vessel) to require (a certain depth) in which to float
- draw a blankto get no results from something
- draw and quarterto disembowel and dismember (a person) after hanging
- draw stumpscricket to close play, as by pulling out the stumps
- draw the lineSee line 1
- draw the short strawSee short straw
- draw the shotbowls to deliver the bowl in such a way that it approaches the jack
noun
- the act of drawing
- a sum of money advanced to finance anticipated expenses
- an event, occasion, act, etc, that attracts a large audience
- a raffle or lottery
- something taken or chosen at random, as a ticket in a raffle or lottery
- a contest or game ending in a tie
- a small natural drainage way or gully
- a defect found in metal castings due to the contraction of the metal on solidification
Derived Forms
- ˈdrawable, adjective
Other Words From
- drawa·ble adjective
- mis·draw verb misdrew misdrawn misdrawing
- pre·draw verb predrew predrawn predrawing noun
- re·draw verb redrew redrawn redrawing noun
- un·drawa·ble adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of draw1
Idioms and Phrases
- beat to the draw, to react quicker than an opponent.
- draw oneself up, to assume an erect posture.
- luck of the draw. luck ( def 10 ).
More idioms and phrases containing draw
- back to the drawing board
- beat to it (the draw)
- daggers drawn
- luck of the draw
- quick on the draw
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
"My daughter was watching everything that happened. She'd say 'mum they've cut themselves. Should I cut myself?' So I'd say 'no, no. You can't do anything. I'll protect you. Come and listen to some music, come and take some paper and just draw,'" she recalls through tears.
As Reuters notes, “Trump's overall tariff plans… would push U.S. import duties back up to 1930s levels, stoke inflation, collapse U.S.-China trade, draw retaliation, and drastically reorder supply chains.”
Reforms to the first two draw on models that go back to 1992, when Ross Perot’s third-party candidacy exposed the same disconnect we struggle with today.
Second, that in fighting the authoritarian threat Trump represents we need to strengthen democracy, to make facts matter, and to draw people into serious deliberation about the future.
“Having a special election is extremely expensive, especially for a small city. Instead of pushing those funds on the city taxpayers, they voted to draw straws,” she added.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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