/dɹɑːft/, /dɹæft/
OriginA phonetic spelling of draught (compare laughter), from Middle English draught, draght (“that which is pulled; that which is drawn up, a design”), from Old English *dreaht, *dræht, from Proto-West Germanic *drahti, *drahtu, from Proto-Germanic *drahtuz (“a pulling, drawing”). Cognate with Dutch dracht, German Tracht, Icelandic dráttur. By surface analysis, draw + -t.
- US, countable, uncountableA current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle.
- US, countable, uncountableThe draw through a flue of gasses or smoke resulting from a combustion process.
- US, countable, uncountableAn act of drinking.
- US, countable, uncountableThe quantity of liquid (such as water, alcohol, or medicine) drunk in one swallow.
“to drink at a draft”
“She took a deep draft from the bottle of water.”
- US, countable, uncountableA dose (of medicine, alcohol, etc.).
- US, countable, uncountableLiquid, especially beer or other alcohol, drawn from a cask or keg rather than a bottle or can.
“From 1767 to 1774 no pale wine was bottled but for immediate use; only draft wine of all kinds was used in the principal taverns, and it was often very bad, not from tricks of the vintners, but from b”
“Another positive trend is the increase of quality in draft cider options. Draft cider has often been, and sometimes still is, considered an inferior product by cider traditionalists, who believe a tru”
- US, countable, uncountableThe depth of water needed to float a particular ship; the depth from the waterline to the bottom of a vessel's hull; the depth of water drawn by a vessel.
- countable, uncountableA version of a written work (such as a book or paper) or drawing.
“I have to revise the first draft of my term paper.”
“His first drafts were better than most authors' final products.”
“Dr Richard Beeching's handwritten draft of his report survives in the National Archives.”
- countable, uncountableAn unsent e-mail.
- countable, uncountableA preliminary sketch or outline for a plan.
- archaic, countable, uncountableAn order for money to be paid; the document that states it: a cheque, note, bond, bill of exchange, money order, or IOU.
- Canada, US, countable, uncountable, usuallyConscription; the system of forcing people to serve in the military.
“He left the country to avoid the draft.”
- countable, uncountableA person who has been drafted; a conscript or draftee.
“With these counsels, and many others equally valuable, did Papa Wick fortify Bobby ere that last awful night at Portsmouth when the Officers' Quarters held more inmates than were provided for by the R”
- US, countable, uncountableA system of forcing or convincing people to take an elected position.
- US, countable, uncountableA system of assigning rookie players to professional sports teams.
- countable, uncountableA style of play in collectible card games, where players select from a shared pool of cards.
- British, English, archaic, countable, possiblyA quantity that is requisitioned or drawn out from a larger population.
“As an instance: amongst a draft of young hounds from Earl F itzwilliam's was one, of whom Will Deane, his huntsman, made this remark in his letter, 'that he could not guess at Lord Foley's dislike to ”
“These drafts left between the 17th March and 28th April. After this there was no regular system of artillery drafts. A draft of 80 was detailed to take charge of horses on board ship as all cavalry dr”
“The Complaint about the Beef lately furnished for the use of the Troops &c at Parramatta, is not without foundation; when I commenced supplying the several Stations with animal food in January last, —”
- US, countable, uncountableThe pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack (stretched) condition.
- countable, uncountableThe bevel given to the pattern for a casting, so that it can be drawn from the sand without damaging the mould.
- US, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountableThe action or an act (especially of a beast of burden or vehicle) of pulling something along or back.
“using oxen for draft”
“shot forth an arrow with a mighty draft”
“In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century in the U.S., "strong" ploughs requiring the draft of four and sometimes six oxen were frequently used for breaking land which had previously lain fa”
- US, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountableThe act of drawing in a net for fish.
- US, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountableThat which is drawn in; a catch; a haul.
“He cast his net, which brought him a very great draft.”
- Appalachia, countable, uncountableA small stream or tributary.
“Crossing several ridges & hollows & two small drafts of water.”
“Hollows were tributary to a cove or another type of sizable valley threaded by a creek or, in Pennsylvania, a “run,” and in Virginia, a “draft.””
- Appalachia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West, countableA ravine or narrow valley, especially one through which a stream (at least intermittently) flows.
“[page 24:] About one quarter of a mile up the draft, the same blue-gray limestone is opened in a quarry on the Graham and Robinson farm, […]
[page 31:] Up along a narrow draft heading south-east from ”
“Then came the pleasant toil up and down the ridges and drafts of the Knob.”
“Now you have left the dividing "backbone", and climb up and down a never-ending succession of ridges and "drafts," as the ravines are called. […] a searching reconnoitre of the next long draft opened ”
- transitiveTo write a first version; to make a preliminary sketch.
- To draw in outline; to make a draught, sketch, or plan of, as in architectural and mechanical drawing.
- To write a law.
- To select (someone or something) for a particular role or purpose.
“There was a campaign to draft Smith to run for President.”
“They drafted me to be the chairperson of the new committee.”
“Class "H16" 4-6-2T No. 30516 has been drafted to the Fawley branch and is here seen working a 747-ton test train across Frost Lane crossing, near Hythe, on March 6 [...].”
- US, transitiveTo conscript (a person); to force (a person) to serve in some capacity, especially in the military.
“He was drafted during the Vietnam War.”
- To select and separate an animal or animals from a group.
“The calves were drafted from the cows.”
- US, transitiveTo select a rookie player onto a professional sports team.
“After his last year of college football, he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins.”
- ambitransitiveTo follow very closely (behind another vehicle), thereby providing an aerodynamic advantage to both lead and follower and conserving energy or increasing speed.
“At the restart, the positions of the Mercedes drivers was reversed. Hamilton drafted Bottas down to Turn One and took the lead around the outside, controlling the race from there.”
- To draw out; to call forth.
- To draw fibers out of a clump, for spinning in the production of yarn.
- To play a collectible card game by selecting from a shared pool of cards.
- US, not-comparableReferring to drinks on tap, in contrast to bottled.
“I'd rather have a fresh, cheap draft beer.”
- US, not-comparableReferring to animals used for pulling heavy loads.
“A Clydesdale is a draft horse.”
Formsdrafts(plural) · draught(alternative) · drafts(present, singular, third-person) · drafting(participle, present) · drafted(participle, past) · drafted(past)