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
-
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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Trade currently stands at just over $307 million annually and the only concrete joint project is a planned uranium mine that has been on the drawing board for more than a decade.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
“If you’re not finishing at the top in a championship, you’re immediately back to the drawing board trying to figure out how to get there again.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
"Ministers have rightly gone back to the drawing board and begun the difficult task of rebuilding trust in what has the potential to be a valuable tool for government," she said.
From BBC ● May 20, 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
When Dessie got up in the morning Tom was already at his drawing board, beating his forehead with his fist and growling to himself.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
