draw out
Britishverb
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to extend or cause to be extended
he drew out his stay
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(tr) to cause (a person) to talk freely
she's been quiet all evening – see if you can draw her out
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Also: draw from. to elicit (information) (from)
he managed to draw out of his son where he had been
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(tr) to withdraw (money) as from a bank account or a business
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(intr) (of hours of daylight) to become longer
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(intr) (of a train) to leave a station
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(tr) to extend (troops) in line; lead from camp
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(intr) (of troops) to proceed from camp
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Pull out, extract, remove, as in She drew out her pen , or Let's draw some money out of the bank . [c. 1300]
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Prolong, protract, as in This meal was drawn out over four hours . The related expression long-drawn-out means “greatly extended or protracted,” as in The dinner was a long-drawn-out affair . [1500s]
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Induce to speak freely, as in The teacher was good at drawing out the children . [Late 1700s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His attentiveness will be closely watched in the Maduro case, as tussling between the defense and prosecution has already threatened to draw out proceedings.
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
To make the product, the team used honey from native bees as a natural, edible solvent to draw out beneficial compounds from cocoa shells, a byproduct typically discarded during chocolate production.
From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026
Dahlia Lithwick: In your article, you draw out the fact that lawyers are extremely uneasy about invoking the language of morality, because morality is either too malleable or just sanctimonious and annoying.
From Slate • Feb. 3, 2026
Instead, M.B.A.s must draw out details and data through open-ended conversations with AI chatbots and then craft a strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 1, 2025
The sound of the last word, the way I draw out the vowel, makes me hear how much I wanted that.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
