draw up

verb

drew up; drawn up; drawing up; draws up

transitive verb

1

: to bring (a body of troops) into array

2

: to prepare a draft or version of

draw up plans

3

: to bring to a halt

4

: to straighten (oneself) to an erect posture especially as an assertion of dignity or resentment

intransitive verb

: to come to a halt

the car drew up at the door

Synonyms

• arrest
• bring up
• catch
• check
• fetch up
• halt
• hold up
• pull up
• stall
• stay
• still
• stop

Examples of draw up in a Sentence

he drew up his horse outside the tavern

drew up the troops into a line along the ridge

Recent Examples on the Web

Well, that's – well, our reporting is that the order was for a list to be drawn up of those 1,500 or so people who worked on those cases. —CBS News, 2 Feb. 2025

But, that’s on the list Portwood herself drew up for her guilty plea for consent judgment. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2025

Who is responsible for drawing up the game plan for a beating like that? —Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 1 Feb. 2025

In the clandestine operation, Cal Fire planted an investigator at the utility’s offices posing as an architecture student to draw up floor plans for the upcoming raid. —Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

draw up

verb

1

: to arrange (as troops) in order

2

: to prepare a draft or version of

draw up plans

3

: to straighten (oneself) to an erect posture

drew himself up angrily and left the room

4

: to bring or come to a stop

the car drew up at the door