I. ˈdraft, ˈdräft noun
Etymology: Middle English draght; akin to Old English dragan to draw — more at draw
Date: 13th century
1.
a. : the act of drawing a net
b. : haul 2b
2.
a. : the act or an instance of drinking or inhaling ; also : the portion drunk or inhaled in one such act
b. : a portion poured out or mixed for drinking : dose
3.
a. : the force required to pull an implement
b. : load or load-pulling capacity
4.
a. : the act of moving loads by drawing or pulling : pull
b. : a team of animals together with what they draw
5.
a. : delineation , representation
b. : scheme , design
c. : a preliminary sketch, outline, or version
the author's first draft
a draft treaty
6. : the act, result, or plan of drawing out or stretching
7.
a. : the act of drawing (as from a cask)
b. : a portion of liquid so drawn
a draft of ale
c. : draft beer
a glass of draft
8. : the depth of water a ship draws especially when loaded
9.
a.
(1) : a system for or act of selecting individuals from a group (as for compulsory military service)
(2) : an act or process of selecting an individual (as for political candidacy) without the individual's expressed consent
b. : a group of individuals selected especially by military draft
c. : a system whereby exclusive rights to selected new players are apportioned among professional teams
10.
a. : an order for the payment of money drawn by one person or bank on another
b. : the act or an instance of drawing from or making demands upon something : demand
11.
a. : a current of air in a closed-in space
felt a draft
b. : a device for regulating the flow of air (as in a fireplace)
12. : angle , taper ; specifically : the taper given to a pattern or die so that the work can be easily withdrawn
13. : a pocket of reduced air pressure behind a moving object ; also : the use of such a draft to save energy
•
- on draft
II. adjective
Date: 15th century
1. : used or adapted for drawing loads
draft horses
2. : being or having been on draft
drinking draft beer
III. verb
Date: 1714
transitive verb
1. : to select for some purpose: as
a. : to conscript for military service
b. : to select (a professional athlete) by draft
2.
a. : to draw the preliminary sketch, version, or plan of
draft legislation
b. : compose , prepare
draft a memo
3. : to draw off or away
water draft ed by pumps
4. : to stay close behind (another racer) so as to take advantage of the reduced air pressure created by the leading racer
intransitive verb
1. : to practice draftsmanship
2. : to draft another racer (as in car or bike racing)
• draft·able ˈdraf-tə-bəl, ˈdräf- adjective
• draft·ee ˌdraf-ˈtē, ˌdräf- noun
• draft·er ˈdraf-tər, ˈdräf- noun