verb (used with object), drew, drawn, draw·ing.
- to cause to move in a particular direction by or as if by a pulling force; pull; drag (often followed by along, away, in, out, or off).
- to bring, take, or pull out, as from a receptacle or source: to draw water from a well.
- to bring toward oneself or itself, as by inherent force or influence; attract: The concert drew a large audience.
- to sketch (someone or something) in lines or words; delineate; depict: to draw a vase with charcoal; to draw the comedy’s characters with skill.
- to compose or create (a picture) in lines.
- to mark or lay out; trace: to draw perpendicular lines.
- to frame or formulate: to draw a distinction.
- to write out in legal form (sometimes followed by up): Draw up the contract.
- to inhale or suck in: to draw liquid through a straw.
- to derive or use, as from a source: to draw inspiration from Shakespeare.
- to deduce; infer: to draw a conclusion.
- to get, take, or receive, as from a source: to draw interest on a savings account; to draw a salary of $600 a week.
- to withdraw funds from a drawing account, especially against future commissions on sales.
- to produce; bring in: The deposits draw interest.
- to disembowel: to draw a turkey.
- to drain: to draw a pond.
- to pull out to full or greater length; make by attenuating; stretch: to draw filaments of molten glass.
- to bend (a bow) by pulling back its string in preparation for shooting an arrow.
- to choose or to have assigned to one at random, by or as by picking an unseen number, item, etc.: Let’s draw straws to see who has to wash the car.
- Metalworking. to form or reduce the sectional area of (a wire, tube, etc.) by pulling through a die.
- to wrinkle or shrink by contraction.
- Medicine/Medical. to cause to discharge: to draw an abscess by a poultice.
- to obtain (rations, clothing, equipment, weapons, or ammunition) from an issuing agency, as an army quartermaster.
- Nautical. (of a vessel) to need (a specific depth of water) to float: She draws six feet.
- to leave (a contest) undecided; finish with neither side winning, as in a tie.
- Cards.
- to take or be dealt (a card or cards) from the pack.
- Bridge.to remove the outstanding cards in (a given suit) by leading that suit: He had to draw spades first in order to make the contract.
- Billiards. to cause (a cue ball) to recoil after impact by giving it a backward spin on the stroke.
- Northeastern U.S. (chiefly New England ). to haul; cart.
- Hunting. to search (a covert) for game.
- Cricket. to play (a ball) with a bat held at an angle in order to deflect the ball between the wicket and the legs.
- Curling. to slide (the stone) gently.
- to steep (tea) in boiling water.
- to form or shape (glass) as it comes from the furnace by stretching.
verb (used without object), drew, drawn, draw·ing.
- to exert a pulling, moving, or attracting force: A sail draws by being properly trimmed and filled with wind.
- to move or pass, especially slowly or continuously, as under a pulling force (often followed by on, off, out, etc.): The day draws near.
- to take out a sword, pistol, etc., for action.
- to hold a drawing, lottery, or the like: to draw for prizes.
- to sketch or to trace figures; create a picture or depict by sketching.
- to be skilled in or practice the art of sketching: I can’t paint, but I can draw.
- to shrink or contract (often followed by up).
- to make a demand (usually followed by on or upon): to draw on one’s imagination.
- Medicine/Medical.
- to act as an irritant; cause blisters.
- to cause blood, pus, or the like to gather at a specific point.
- to produce or permit a draft, as a pipe or flue.
- to leave a contest undecided; tie.
- Hunting. (of a hound)
- to search a covert for game.
- to follow a game animal by its scent.
- to attract customers, an audience, etc.: Our newspaper advertisement drew very well.
- to pull back the string of a bow in preparation for shooting an arrow.
noun
- an act of drawing.
- something that attracts customers, an audience, etc.
- something that is moved by being drawn, as the movable part of a drawbridge.
- something that is chosen or drawn at random, as a lot or chance.
- drawing(defs 5, 6).
- a contest that ends in a tie; an undecided contest.
- Also called draw play. Football. a play in which the quarterback fades as if to pass and then hands the ball to a back, usually the fullback, who is running toward the line of scrimmage.
- Poker.
- a card or cards taken or dealt from the pack.
- draw poker.
- Physical Geography.
- a small, natural drainageway with a shallow bed; gully.
- the dry bed of a stream.
- Chiefly Western U.S.a coulee; ravine.
- the pull necessary to draw a bow to its full extent.
- an amount regularly drawn, as from a drawing account.
- a fund, as an expense account or credit line, from which money may be withdrawn when needed.
- Horology. the tendency of a tooth of an escape wheel to force toward the center of the wheel a pallet engaging with it.
Verb Phrases
- draw ahead,
- to gradually pass something moving in the same direction.
- Nautical.(of the wind) to blow from a direction closer to that in which a vessel is moving; haul forward.Compare veer1(def 2b).
- draw away,
- to move or begin to move away: He drew his hand away from the hot stove.
- to move farther ahead: The lead runner gradually drew away from his competitor.
- draw down, to deplete or be depleted through use or consumption: to draw down crude-oil supplies.
- draw in,
- to cause to take part or enter, especially unwittingly: I heard them debating the point, but I avoided being drawn in.
- to make a rough sketch of: to draw in a person’s figure against the landscape background.
- draw off, to move back or away.
- draw on,
- to come nearer; approach: He sensed winter drawing on.
- to clothe oneself in: She drew on her cape and gloves.
- Nautical.(of a vessel) to gain on (another vessel).
- to utilize or make use of, especially as a source: The biography has drawn heavily on personal interviews.
- draw out,
- to pull out; remove.
- to prolong; lengthen.
- to persuade to speak: You’ll find she’s quite interesting if you take the trouble to draw her out.
- Nautical.(of a vessel) to move away from (sometimes followed by from): The boat drew out from the wharf.
- to take (money) from a place of deposit: She drew her money out of the bank and invested it in bonds.
- draw up,
- to devise or formulate; draft, especially in legal form or as a formal proposal: to draw up a will.
- to put into position; arrange in order or formation: The officer drew up his men.
- to bring or come to a stop; halt: Their car drew up at the curb.
- beat to the draw, to react quicker than an opponent.
- draw oneself up, to assume an erect posture.
- luck of the draw. luck(def 10).
verb draws, drawing, drew or drawn
- to cause (a person or thing) to move towards or away by pulling
- to bring, take, or pull (something) out, as from a drawer, holster, etc
- (tr) to extract or pull or take outto draw teeth; to draw a card from a pack
- (tr often foll by off) to take (liquid) out of a cask, keg, tank, etc, by means of a tap
- (intr) to move, go, or proceed, esp in a specified directionto draw alongside
- (tr) to attract or elicitto draw a crowd; draw attention
- (tr) to cause to flowto draw blood
- to depict or sketch (a form, figure, picture, etc) in lines, as with a pencil or pen, esp without the use of colour; delineate
- (tr) to make, formulate, or deriveto draw conclusions, comparisons, parallels
- (tr) to write (a legal document) in proper form
- (tr sometimes foll by in) to suck or take in (air, liquid, etc)to draw a breath
- (intr) to induce or allow a draught to carry off air, smoke, etcthe flue draws well
- (tr) to take or receive from a sourceto draw money from the bank
- (tr) to earndraw interest
- (tr) finance to write out (a bill of exchange or promissory note)to draw a cheque
- (tr) to choose at randomto draw lots
- (tr) to reduce the diameter of (a wire or metal rod) by pulling it through a die
- (tr) to shape (a sheet of metal or glass) by rolling, by pulling it through a die or by stretching
- archery to bend (a bow) by pulling the string
- to steep (tea) or (of tea) to steep in boiling water
- (tr) to disemboweldraw a chicken
- (tr) to cause (pus, blood, etc) to discharge from an abscess or wound
- (intr) (of two teams, contestants, etc) to finish a game with an equal number of points, goals, etc; tie
- (tr) bridge whist to keep leading a suit in order to force out (all outstanding cards)
- draw trumps bridge whist to play the trump suit until the opponents have none left
- (tr) billiards to cause (the cue ball) to spin back after a direct impact with another ball by applying backspin when making the stroke
- (tr) to search (a place) in order to find wild animals, game, etc, for hunting
- golf to cause (a golf ball) to move with a controlled right-to-left trajectory or (of a golf ball) to veer gradually from right to left
- (tr) curling to deliver (the stone) gently
- (tr) nautical (of a vessel) to require (a certain depth) in which to float
- draw a blank to get no results from something
- draw and quarter to disembowel and dismember (a person) after hanging
- draw stumps cricket to close play, as by pulling out the stumps
- draw the line See line 1 (def. 51)
- draw the short straw See short straw
- draw the shot bowls to deliver the bowl in such a way that it approaches the jack
noun
- the act of drawing
- US a sum of money advanced to finance anticipated expenses
- an event, occasion, act, etc, that attracts a large audience
- a raffle or lottery
- something taken or chosen at random, as a ticket in a raffle or lottery
- a contest or game ending in a tie
- US and Canadian a small natural drainage way or gully
- a defect found in metal castings due to the contraction of the metal on solidification
c.1200, spelling alteration of Old English dragan “to drag, to draw, protract” (class VI strong verb; past tense drog, past participle dragen), from Proto-Germanic *draganan “carry” (cf. Old Norse draga “to draw,” Old Saxon dragan, Old Frisian draga, Middle Dutch draghen, Old High German tragen, German tragen “to carry, bear”), from PIE root *dhragh- (see drag (v.)).
Sense of “make a line or figure” (by “drawing” a pencil across paper) is c.1200. Meaning “pull out a weapon” is c.1200. To draw a criminal (drag him from a horse to place of execution) is from early 14c. To draw a blank “come up with nothing” (1825) is an image from lotteries. As a noun, from 1660s; colloquial sense of “anything that can draw a crowd” is from 1881 (the verb in this sense is 1580s).
game or contest that ends without a winner, attested first in drawn match (1610s), of uncertain origin; some speculate it is from withdraw. Draw-game is from 1825. As a verb, “to leave undecided,” from 1837.
In addition to the idioms beginning with draw
- draw a bead on
- draw a blank
- draw a line between
- draw and quarter
- draw an inference
- draw a veil over
- draw away
- draw back
- draw blood
- draw down
- draw fire
- draw in
- drawing board
- drawing card
- draw in one’s horns
- draw in the reins
- draw on
- draw out
- draw straws
- draw the curtain
- draw the line at
- draw up
also see:
- back to the drawing board
- beat to it (the draw)
- daggers drawn
- luck of the draw
- quick on the draw