/ drɔː; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( drew / druː; NAmE / drawn / drɔːn; NAmE /)
MAKE PICTURES
1.
to make pictures, or a picture of sth, with a pencil, pen or chalk (but not paint) :
[ v ]
You draw beautifully.
[ vn ]
to draw a picture / diagram / graph
She drew a house.
He drew a circle in the sand with a stick.
( figurative )
The report drew a grim picture of inefficiency and corruption.
PULL
2.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to move sth/sb by pulling it or them gently :
He drew the cork out of the bottle.
I drew my chair up closer to the fire.
She drew me onto the balcony.
I tried to draw him aside (= for example where I could talk to him privately) .
( figurative )
My eyes were drawn to the man in the corner.
➡ note at pull
3.
[ vn ] ( of horses, etc. ) to pull a vehicle such as a carriage :
The Queen's coach was drawn by six horses.
a horse-drawn carriage
CURTAINS
4.
[ vn ] to open or close curtains, etc. :
The blinds were drawn.
It was getting dark so I switched on the light and drew the curtains.
She drew back the curtains and let the sunlight in.
MOVE
5.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] to move in the direction mentioned :
The train drew into the station.
The train drew in.
The figures in the distance seemed to be drawing closer.
Their car drew alongside ours.
( figurative )
Her retirement is drawing near.
( figurative )
The meeting was drawing to a close .
WEAPON
6.
draw (sth) (on sb) to take out a weapon, such as a gun or a sword , in order to attack sb :
[ vn ]
She drew a revolver on me.
He came towards them with his sword drawn.
[also v ]
ATTRACT
7.
[ vn ] draw sb (to sth) to attract or interest sb :
The movie is drawing large audiences.
Her screams drew passers-by to the scene.
The course draws students from all over the country.
GET REACTION
8.
[ vn ] draw sth (from sb) to produce a reaction or response :
The announcement drew loud applause from the audience.
The plan has drawn a lot of criticism.
MAKE SB TALK
9.
[ vn ] draw sb (about / on sth) [ often passive ] to make sb say more about sth :
Spielberg refused to be drawn on his next movie.
CONCLUSION
10.
[ vn ] draw sth (from sth) to have a particular idea after you have studied sth or thought about it :
What conclusions did you draw from the report?
We can draw some lessons for the future from this accident.
COMPARISON
11.
[ vn ] to express a comparison or a contrast :
to draw an analogy / a comparison / a parallel / a distinction between two events
CHOOSE
12.
to decide sth by picking cards, tickets or numbers by chance :
[ v ]
We drew for partners.
[ vn ]
They had to draw lots to decide who would go.
He drew the winning ticket.
Names were drawn from a hat for the last few places.
Italy has been drawn against Spain in the first round.
[ vn to inf ]
Italy has been drawn to play Spain.
GAME
13.
draw (with / against sb) to finish a game without either team winning :
[ v ]
England and France drew.
England drew with / against France.
England and France drew 3–3.
[ vn ]
England drew their game against France.
MONEY
14.
[ vn ] draw sth (from sth) | draw sth out (of sth) | draw sth on sth to take money or payments from a bank account or post office
SYN withdraw :
Can I draw $80 out of my account?
I drew out £200.
She went to the post office to draw her pension.
The cheque was drawn on his personal account.
LIQUID / GAS
15.
[ vn ] to take or pull liquid or gas from somewhere :
to draw water from a well
The device draws gas along the pipe.
SMOKE / AIR
16.
draw at / on sth | draw sth in to breathe in smoke or air :
[ v ]
He drew thoughtfully on his pipe.
[ vn ]
She breathed deeply, drawing in the fresh mountain air.
•
IDIOMS
- draw a blank
- draw blood
- draw breath
- draw sb's fire
- draw a line under sth
- draw the line (at sth / at doing sth)
- draw the line (between sth and sth)
- draw the short straw
- draw straws (for sth)
—more at battle noun , bead noun , dagger , height , horn , lot noun , side noun
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- draw back
- draw back (from sth / from doing sth)
- draw sth from sb/sth
- draw in
- draw sb into sth / into doing sth | draw sb in
- draw sth off
- draw on
- draw on / upon sth
- draw out
- draw sb out
- draw sth out
- draw up
- draw sth up
■ noun
CHOOSING
1.
( US also draw·ing ) [ usually sing. ] draw (for sth) the act of choosing sth, for example the winner of a prize or the teams who play each other in a competition, usually by taking pieces of paper, etc. out of a container without being able to see what is written on them :
the draw for the second round of the European Cup
The draw for the raffle takes place on Saturday.
SPORTS / GAMES
2.
( especially BrE ) a game in which both teams or players finish with the same number of points :
The match ended in a two-all draw.
He managed to hold Smith to a draw (= to stop him from winning when he seemed likely to do so) .
—compare tie noun (5)
3.
( NAmE usually draw·ing ) a competition in which the winners are chosen in a draw :
a prize draw
—compare lottery
4.
( BrE ) a sports match for which the teams or players are chosen in a draw :
Liverpool have an away draw against Manchester United.
5.
[ usually sing. ] a set of matches for which the teams or players are chosen in a draw :
There are only two seeded players left in the top half of the draw.
ATTRACTION
6.
a person, a thing or an event that attracts a lot of people
SYN attraction :
She is currently one of the biggest draws on the Irish music scene.
SMOKE
7.
an act of breathing in the smoke from a cigarette
SYN drag
•
IDIOMS
- be quick / fast on the draw
—more at luck noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English dragan , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dragen and German tragen , also to draught .