- present participle of draw.
drawing
Americannoun
-
drawings
plural
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the act of a person or thing that draws.
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a graphic representation by lines of an object or idea, as with a pencil; a delineation of form without reference to color.
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a sketch, plan, or design, especially one made with pen, pencil, or crayon.
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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:
Japan is broadly sticking with its end of the bargain, but many projects are still on the drawing board.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Tenerife and Andorra were drawing 2-2 seven minutes into stoppage time when the incident occurred.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
“Don’t waste the income valley. Your income and tax rate will be lower than it’s been in decades. Think about distribution planning, drawing down an IRA,” Taylor said.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Together with his proteges, he performed a dance to the beat of percussions, and the Swiss wrestlers joined in, drawing further applause.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
A rifle leans against his grandfather’s leg and I wonder if this drawing was made of the hunting party, of the day Theo was to have gone off to war.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Network Rail complying with its own standards in place at the time of the end of the drain construction that required it to get such drawings.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Gallery visitors were careful not to step on the sprawling assemblage of photographs, drawings and artifacts scattered across the floor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
They were, in a word, exceptionally schooled figure drawings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The typeface is large and the pages are full of drawings by the author.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Even when they were separated by a wall of drawings and deadlines, she was still there.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
