draw

1 of 2

verb

ˈdrȯ 

drew ˈdrü  ; drawn ˈdrȯn 

ˈdrän

; drawing

transitive verb

1

: to cause to move continuously toward or after a force applied in advance : pull

draw your chair up by the fire

: such as

a

: to move (something, such as a covering) over or to one side

draw the drapes

b

: to pull up or out of a receptacle or place where seated or carried

draw water from the well

drew a gun

also : to cause to come out of a container or source

draw water for a bath

the nurse drew a blood sample

the wound drew blood

2

: to cause to go in a certain direction (as by leading)

drew him aside

3

a

: to bring by inducement or allure : attract

honey draws flies

b

: to bring in or gather from a specified group or area

a college that draws its students from many states

c

: bring on, provoke

drew enemy fire

d

: to bring out by way of response : elicit

drew cheers from the audience

e

sports : to receive in the course of play

The batter drew a walk.

draw a foul

4

: inhale

drew a deep breath

5

a

: to extract the essence from

draw tea

b

: eviscerate

plucking and drawing a goose before cooking

c

: to derive to one's benefit

drew inspiration from the old masters

6

nautical : to require (a specified depth) to float in

a ship that draws 12 feet of water

7

a

: accumulate, gain

drawing interest

b

: to take (money) from a place of deposit

drew $100 from the bank

c

: to use in making a cash demand

drawing a check against his account

d

: to receive regularly or in due course

draw a salary

8

a

card games : to take (cards) from a stack or from the dealer

draw four cards

b

: to receive or take at random

drew a winning number

9

archery : to bend (a bow) by pulling back the string

drew the bow and aimed at the target

10

: to cause to shrink, contract, or tighten

draw your knees into your chest

Her face was drawn with pain.

11

sports

a

: to strike (a ball) so as to impart a backward spin

b

golf : to strike (a ball) so that a slight to moderate hook (see hook entry 1 sense 3) results

12

: to leave (a contest) undecided : tie

drew the game 3–3

13

a(1)

: to produce a likeness or representation of by making lines on a surface

draw a picture

draw a bowl of fruit

draw a graph with chalk

(2)

: to give a portrayal of : delineate

a writer who draws characters well

b

: to write out in due form

draw a will

c

: to design or describe in detail : formulate

draw comparisons

14

: to infer from evidence or premises

draw a conclusion

15

: to spread or elongate (metal) by hammering or by pulling through dies

also : to shape (a material, such as plastic) by stretching or by pulling through dies

intransitive verb

1

: to come or go steadily or gradually

night draws near

2

a

: to move something by pulling

drawing at the well

b

: to exert an attractive force

the play is drawing well

3

a

archery : to pull back a bowstring

b

: to bring out a weapon

drew, aimed, and fired

4

a

: to produce a draft

the chimney draws well

draw on a cigar

b

nautical : to swell out in a wind

all sails drawing

5

a

: to wrinkle or tighten up : shrink

b

: to change shape by pulling or stretching

6

medical : to cause blood or pus to localize at one point

7

: to create a likeness or a picture in outlines : sketch

loves to paint and draw

not good at drawing

8

: to come out even in a contest

they drew 3–3

9

a

: to make a written demand for payment of money on deposit

b

: to obtain resources (as of information)

drawing from a common fund of knowledge

drawable

ˈdrȯ-ə-bəl 

adjective

draw

2 of 2

noun

1

: the act or process of drawing (see draw entry 1) : such as

a

: a sucking pull on something held with the lips

took a long draw on her cigarette

b

: a removal of a handgun from its holster

quick on the draw

c

: backward spin given to a ball by striking it below center compare follow

2

: something that is drawn: such as

a

: a lot or chance drawn at random

the only grand prize winner of the lottery draw

b

: the selection of competitors in a sports event

also : the arrangement of competitors in a sporting event by order drawn

the draw for a tennis tournament

c

: a card drawn to replace a discard in poker

d

: the movable part of a drawbridge

3

: a contest left undecided or deadlocked : tie

4

: one that draws attention or patronage (see patronage sense 4) : attraction

Their band is the main draw at the festival.

5

archery

a

: the distance from the string to the back of a drawn bow (see bow entry 3 sense 2)

b

: the force required to draw a bow fully

6

geology : a gully shallower than a ravine

7

: the deal in draw poker to improve the players' hands after discarding

8

football : a play that simulates a pass play so a runner can go straight up the middle past the pass rushers

9

golf : a slight to moderate and usually intentional hook (see hook entry 1 sense 3)

10

: a face-off in ice hockey

won the draw and knocked the puck backward

Phrases

draw a bead on

: to take aim at

draw a blank

: to fail to gain a desired object (such as information sought)

also : to be unable to think of something

draw on or draw upon

: to use as a source of supply

drawing on the whole community for support

draw straws

: to decide or assign something by lottery in which straws of unequal length are used

draw the line or draw a line

1

: to fix an arbitrary (see arbitrary sense 1b) boundary between things that tend to intermingle

drawing a line between good and bad art

2

: to fix a boundary excluding what one will not tolerate or engage in

helps clean the house but draws the line at washing windows

Synonyms

Verb

• picture

Noun

• dead heat
• stalemate
• standoff
• tie

Examples of draw in a Sentence

Verb

The computer can draw the graph for you.

Students drew maps of the states and labeled them.

She sat down and began to draw.

The case has drawn attention to the fact that many athletes never graduate.

I would like to draw your attention to the third line.

The band always draws a large crowd.

The college draws students from around the world.

The animals were drawn to the campsite by the smell of food.

We hope the display in the window will draw customers in from the street.

The lure of city life has drawn away many of the town's young people.

Noun

Their band is the main draw at the festival.

The festival is always a big draw.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Beyond these blockbuster movies, there were so many appealing films – big, medium, and small – drawing great crowds to our cinemas this holiday period. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 2 Dec. 2024

This identity-first posture drives every access decision, drawing from live threat intelligence and behavioral insights. —Craig Davies, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024

Noun

The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. —Ray Padilla, The Courier-Journal, 1 Dec. 2024

The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. —Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 30 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English dragen, drawen, going back to Old English dragan (class VI strong verb) "to drag, pull, move, pull out (a sword), bring," going back to Germanic *dragan- (whence also Old Frisian drega, draga "to carry, bring, endure," Old Saxon dragan "to carry, bring," Middle Dutch drāghen, Old High German tragan, Old Icelandic draga "to drag, pull," Gothic (ga)dragan "to heap up, accumulate"), of uncertain origin

Note: There is a peculiar divergence in the meaning of this verb that separates North Germanic and Old English, where it has the sense "draw, pull," from the rest of continental Germanic, where the meaning is "carry." (It is not clear how the Gothic verb, which occurs only once in the corpus, fits in the picture.) The sense "draw, pull" is taken to be the original, whence "bring" > "carry." For a discussion of a possible relationship between this Germanic verb and Latin trahere "to drag, draw, take along," see the note at abstract entry 1.

Noun

derivative of draw entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing draw

• be quick on the draw
• draw a big/large crowd
• draw a comparison
• draw a conclusion
• draw against
• draw away
• draw back
• draw blood
• draw breath
• draw comparisons
• draw conclusions
• draw down
• draw fire
• draw in
• draw in one's horns
• draw lessons from
• draw/make an analogy between
• draw near
• draw near/nigh
• draw off
• draw out
• draw parallels between
• draw play
• draw poker
• draw/run a bath
• draw shot
• draw the blinds/curtain/shades on
• draw to a close
• draw to a halt/stop
• draw up
• draw up one's knees/legs
• paint/draw a picture of
• the luck of the draw

Kids Definition

draw

1 of 2 verb

ˈdrȯ 

drew ˈdrü  ; drawn ˈdrȯn  ; drawing

1

a

: to cause to move by pulling : cause to follow

b

: to pull up or to one side

draw the curtains

c

: to pull up or out

drew water from the well

draw a gun

d

: to cause to come out of a container or source

draw water for a bath

2

: to move or go steadily or gradually

day was drawing to a close

3

a

: attract, entice

drew a crowd

b

: provoke sense 2

drew criticism

c

: to bring on as a response

drew cheers from the crowd

4

: inhale sense 1

drew a deep breath

5

a

: to cause (as the contents or essence) to come forth

brine draws moisture and sugars from the cucumbers

b

: eviscerate

drawn and plucked chickens

6

: to need (a specified depth) to float in

the boat draws three feet of water

7

a

: accumulate sense 1, gain

drawing interest

b

: to take money from a place of deposit : withdraw

c

: to receive regularly from a source

draw a salary

8

a

: to take (cards) from a stack or from the dealer

b

: to receive or take at random

drew a winning number

9

: to bend (a bow) by pulling back the string

10

: to cause to shrink or pucker

11

: to leave (a contest) undecided : tie

12

a

: to produce a likeness of by making lines on a surface

draw a picture

the computer can draw a graph on the screen

b

: to write out in proper form

draw up a will

c

: to describe in words

a writer who draws characters well

13

: deduce sense 1a

draw a conclusion

14

: to stretch or spread by or as if by pulling

some metals can be drawn out to form wire

15

: to produce a draft of air

the chimney draws well

drawable

-ə-bəl 

adjective

draw

2 of 2 noun

1

: the act or result of drawing

2

: a tie contest or game

3

: something that draws attention

4

: a gully shallower than a ravine

Medical Definition

draw

verb

ˈdrȯ 

drew ˈdrü  ; drawn ˈdrȯn  ; drawing

transitive verb

1

: to cause to move toward or localize in a surface

using a poultice to draw inflammation to a head

especially : to cause (an unwanted element) to depart (as from the body or a lesion)

this will help draw the poison

2

: inhale

she drew a deep breath

3

: to remove the viscera of : eviscerate

intransitive verb

1

: to cause local congestion : induce blood or other body fluid to localize at a particular point : be effective as a blistering agent or counterirritant

—used of a poultice and comparable means of medication

2

of a lesion : to become localized

—used in the phrase draw to a head

Legal Definition

draw

verb

drew; drawn; drawing

transitive verb

1

: to compose by random selection

draw a jury

2

: to take (money) from a place of deposit

3

: to write and sign (a draft) in due form for use in making a demand

draw a check

4

: to write out in due form

hired an attorney to draw our wills

intransitive verb

: to make a written demand for payment of money on deposit