doo ‧ dle /ˈduːdl/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: Perhaps from doodle 'to make fun of' , from Low German dudeltopf 'stupid person' ]
to draw shapes, lines, or patterns without really thinking about what you are doing:
Brad was doodling on a sheet of paper.
—doodle noun [countable]
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THESAURUS
▪ draw to make a picture, pattern etc using a pen or pencil:
The children were asked to draw a picture of their families.
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I’m going to art classes to learn how to draw.
▪ sketch /sketʃ/ to draw a picture of something or someone quickly and without a lot of detail:
Roy took a pencil and sketched the bird quickly, before it moved.
▪ illustrate to draw the pictures in a book:
It’s a beautiful book, illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
▪ doodle /ˈduːdl/ to draw shapes or patterns without really thinking about what you are doing:
He was on the phone, doodling on his notepad as he spoke.
▪ scribble to draw shapes or lines without making a definite picture or pattern. Small children do this before they have learned to draw or write:
At the age of two, she loved scribbling with crayons and coloured pencils.
▪ trace to copy a picture by putting a piece of thin paper over it and drawing the lines that you can see through the paper:
First trace the map, and then copy it into your workbooks.