- present participle of draw.
drawing
Americannoun
-
drawings
plural
-
the act of a person or thing that draws.
-
a graphic representation by lines of an object or idea, as with a pencil; a delineation of form without reference to color.
-
a sketch, plan, or design, especially one made with pen, pencil, or crayon.
-
the art or technique of making these.
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something decided by drawing lots; lottery.
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the selection, or time of selection, of the winning chance or chances sold by lottery or raffle.
noun
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a picture or plan made by means of lines on a surface, esp one made with a pencil or pen without the use of colour
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a sketch, plan, or outline
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the art of making drawings; draughtsmanship
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of drawing
A Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at draw, -ing 1
Explanation
A drawing is a sketch or a picture, usually made with a pencil or pen. You might use extra class time after you've finished a test to make a quick drawing of your teacher sleeping at his desk. A drawing is an artwork that's not a painting — it's made of sketched lines and represents some object, person, or form. An architect might begin working on a project for a house design by doing some drawings, and a kindergartener might proudly hang a drawing of her family on the refrigerator. Another kind of drawing is the act of pulling, which is also the earliest meaning of the word.
Vocabulary lists containing drawing
Lessons 3–4
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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.
See Examples For:
The pair watched their following grow, drawing interest from Irish cafes and tourist destinations to the local Gaelic sports club in Colorado.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Microsoft is releasing a “Frontier Playbook” today, drawing on lessons from its own experience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Collins offered the drawing and letter in response to Roebuck’s offer of support.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The episode was heavily promoted, with one on-air spot drawing on clips with from the program’s storied past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
It wasn't that he didn't want to help, though he certainly had better things to do with his time than work on the lawn—like drawing, for instance.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
"I've been working in Japan since 1982. And when I first went there, there was one person who spoke schoolboy English. So, it was very much about communicating through gesture, drawings, but also humour."
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Her arms today are as colorful as Ruby’s notebooks: a collage of her favorite animals and objects, reproductions of her drawings, flowers in the shape of her handprint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
They include a wall that has been covered in stuffed animals and a ceiling mural that was inspired by the drawings of his daughter, Sovereign.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Their first video took weeks to produce and was a shoddy draft, with endearingly shaky camera work and stick-figure drawings of themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
And it seems a miracle that my drawings are now carved into the four sides of the obelisk.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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.
