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

Canada has been drawing up its own retaliatory tariff plan, Bloomberg reports, as has Mexico, according to the Associated Press. ECONOMIC INDICATORS As trading began on Tuesday, the three major indexes rose a bit, but there were no big shifts up or down. —Megan Poinski, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025

Northwestern coach Chris Collins drew up a play for junior forward Nick Martinelli, who drilled the game-winner. —Jack Vita, Baltimore Sun, 17 Jan. 2025

First, ocean water is drawn up to the device's foam surface through a wicking system. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 9 Jan. 2025

Even though the Celtics’ roster is nearly identical to last year’s championship squad, that lack of game-to-game cohesiveness has made finding a rhythm tricky, especially with Porzingis still ramping up and opponents drawing up new ways to defend them. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 8 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