draftsman

American  

[drafts-muhn, drahfts-] / ˈdræfts mən, ˈdrɑfts- /

British, draughtsman

noun

plural

draftsmen

1. a person employed in making mechanical drawings, as of machines, structures, etc.

2. a person who draws sketches, plans, or designs.

3. an artist exceptionally skilled in drawing.

   Matisse was a superb draftsman.

4. a person who draws up documents.

5. draughtsman.

---

draftsman British  

/ ˈdrɑːftsmən /

noun

1. the usual US spelling of draughtsman draughtsman

---

Gender

See -man.

Other Word Forms

• draftsmanship noun

Etymology

Origin of draftsman

First recorded in 1655–65; draft + 's ¹ + man

Example Sentences

Excelling more as a draftsman than a colorist, Lam created his most compelling paintings in near monochrome or with a limited palette.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

Greene had several jobs, including draftsman and steelworker, before becoming an actor in the 1970s.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025

Born Roberta Cleopatra Flack on Feb. 10, 1937, in tiny Black Mountain, N.C., she was the daughter of Laron LeRoy, a draftsman who played piano, and Irene Flack, a church choir organist.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2025

The catalog entry for that exhibition, by Carmen C. Bambach, the Met’s curator of drawings and prints, describes it as “the only surviving manifestation of Michelangelo’s skill as a draftsman in large scale.”

From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2024

But that afternoon draftsman Paul Starrett encountered Root in one of the Rookery’s elevators “looking ill.”

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson