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.
A couple of hours in the oven will draw out the maximum flavor of the tomatoes, bringing a sweet and salty umami-chew to the salad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
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
Though human animators will draw out the characters to certain specifications, OpenAI’s tools will be used to interpret those as storyboards and frames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2025
Maybe even then I knew that Olka’s and my days together would be numbered, and I wanted to slow time down, to draw out every last minute with her.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
