drawing board
Americannoun
idioms
-
back to the drawing board, back to the original or an earlier stage of planning or development.
Our plan didn't work out, so it's back to the drawing board.
-
on the drawing board, in the planning or design stage.
The shopping center is still on the drawing board.
noun
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a smooth flat rectangular board on which paper, canvas, etc, is placed for making drawings
-
return to an earlier stage in an enterprise because a planned undertaking has failed
Etymology
Origin of drawing board
First recorded in 1715–25
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.
I’d go back to the drawing board on this one and plot out a rational plan for Roth conversions over several years, if that’s what you decide makes the most sense for you.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
If all those under construction and on the drawing board are completed, that figure would rise to 35% by 2030.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
Facing new rules governing both the cars’ power units and their aerodynamics, teams had effectively been sent back to the drawing board.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
The Hyseas project culminated in a design for a hydrogen-powered small ferry for Orkney - but it never got beyond the drawing board.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
The Plumbers went back to the drawing board.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
