I. noun
or draught ˈdraft, -aa(ə)-, -ai-, -ȧ-
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English draht, draght, draught; akin to Old High German traht, trahta act of carrying, Old Norse drāttr act of pulling; derivatives from the root of Old English dragan to draw — more at draw
1. : the act of drawing a net : a sweeping of the water for fish ; also : the quantity of fish taken at one drawing
but not a single fish of all the draft — S.T.Coleridge
2.
a. : the act of moving loads by drawing or pulling : pull , traction
these animals make poor beasts of draft or burden
b. : the harness for work animals
c. : a team of animals together with what they draw
3.
a. : the force required to pull a plow or other implement
the effect on plow draft of 5 factors was tested by means of a hydraulic dynamometer — Biological Abstracts
b. : load or load-pulling capacity
the draft … of a typical draft horse working at about 2 1/2 miles per hour has been given as the order of 150 lb — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox
4.
a. : the act of drawing into the mouth and throat liquor, smoke, vapor, or air : the act or an instance of drinking or inhaling
inhaled the smoke in long luxurious drafts
swallowed the beer at one draft
also : the portion or quantity that is drunk or inhaled at a single swallow or inhalation
breathing in great drafts of invigorating … air — Hugh Walpole
b. : a portion of liquid (as medicine) poured out or mixed for drinking : dose , potion
thought himself well enough at night to omit the opium draft — J.B.Holroyd
a draft whose ingredients included the juice of willow bark was esteemed … as an antipyretic — Berton Roueché
5. : a portion of some particular kind of experience to which one is exposed or subjected
the criminal of old was given copious drafts of exhortation and homily — B.N.Cardozo
the officeholder is refreshed by periodic drafts of opposition — S.B.Chrimes
6.
a. : a delineation or representation (as a drawing, painting, sculpture, map, plan, sketch) ; specifically : the plan of something to be constructed
it is usual … for any person before he begins to erect a building, to have designs or drafts made — Joseph Moxon
b. : scheme , design , plot
c. : a preliminary or tentative sketch, outline, or version (as of a document or picture)
asked him to prepare a draft of the proposed law
carefully revised the first draft of the poem
7. archaic : inclination , attraction , tendency
8. : the act, result, or plan of drawing out or stretching: as
a. : the act in spinning of drawing or attenuating fiber webs, slivers, or rovings
b. : the amount of such attenuation expressed as a ratio between length of material produced and length of material fed in or as a ratio between surface speeds of rollers effecting that result
c. : the act in shoe manufacturing of stretching fabric or leather or the placing of paper to determine the pattern shape and contours of a last
d. : a plan of drawing the warp through the heddles to produce a desired pattern in weaving
9.
a. : the act of drawing (liquid) from a cask, barrel, or other container
b. : a portion of liquid that is so drawn
a draft of ale
10.
a. : a drawing down of the pan or platform of a balance or scale
b. : the material weighed at one time especially when a quantity is ascertained in several weighings
c. Britain : any of a number of measures of weight of fish
their cod brought only $1.80 a draft (238 lbs.) — Time
d. : a slight deduction in weight to offset the amount by which something being weighed must overbalance the weights of a scale
e. : an allowance granted a buyer for loss in weight (as that due to drying or repacking) ; specifically : an allowance of one pound per hundredweight deducted with the tare from the gross weight of any package of wool
11. obsolete : sink , sewer , drain , privy
12. : the depth of water a ship draws especially when loaded
a ship of 12 feet draft
found the fleet too deep of draft to enter small rivers and inlets — S.E.Morison
13.
a. : the detaching or selecting of an individual from a group or mass for some special purpose
a draft of cattle for branding
: the condition of being so drafted
the ex-governor accepted his draft as candidate with misgivings
specifically : a selecting of persons for compulsory military service
the draft has affected some industries
b. : a group of individuals so selected
in a normal year 25 lambs per acre are fattened, the first draft being taken between February 20 and 25 — T.A.Sellwood
c. : a group of men drafted for compulsory military service
discipline when our own new drafts first hit the field left a lot to be desired — J.W.Bellah
d. Britain : a group of soldiers or sailors moved or assigned on a particular occasion as a body
14.
a. : a drawing of money from a fund or stock: as
(1) : a written order drawn by a creditor directing a debtor to pay a sum of money to a third party or to bearer — used chiefly of a domestic order or one directed to a person in the country of its origin; compare bill of exchange
(2) : check 10b
b. : the act or an instance of drawing from or making demands upon something : demand , claim
a serious draft on national resources
15.
a. : a current of air in a closed-in space (as a room, ventilator, furnace, or chimney)
b. : the difference in pressure between the air outside (as of a furnace or chimney) and the gases inside that is responsible for a flow of air
c. : a contrivance for regulating the flow of air (as in a fireplace, stove, or furnace)
16.
a. chiefly Midland : gully , gorge
b. Midland : a small stream : creek
17.
a. : the taper given to a pattern so that it can be easily withdrawn from a mold
b. : the taper given to a die so that the work can be easily withdrawn from it
c. : the slant that is given to the furrows of a millstone
18. : a narrow border worked to a plane surface along the edge of a stone or across its face especially as a guide to the stonecutter
19. : draw II 2f
20. : a system whereby exclusive rights to selected new players are apportioned among teams of a professional baseball, football, or hockey league
•
- on draft
- on draft
II. adjective
or draught “
Etymology: Middle English draght, from draht, draght, n.
1. : used for drawing loads
draft animals
— see draft horse
2. : selected — used chiefly of animals selected from a herd or flock (as for branding or classification)
3. : constituting a preliminary or tentative version, sketch, or outline (as of a literary composition or other document)
Pope … proposed to write a history of English poetry, and the draft scheme of that history has been preserved — A.T.Quiller-Couch
a draft treaty
draft conventions submitted to member nations for their approval
4. : on draft ; also : drawn
draft beer
— distinguished from bottled
III. verb
or draught “
( drafted or draughted ; drafted or draughted ; drafting or draughting ; drafts or draughts )
Etymology: draft (I) , draught
transitive verb
1.
a. : to detach or select (an individual) for some special purpose with or without the element of compulsion being present
the convention drafted and nominated the popular attorney general
his friend … was drafted to paint prepared areas — Robert Berkelman
she had no call to the religious life but was drafted into it by her family — Anthony West
all able-bodied men were drafted to work on the levee
specifically : to conscript (a person) for service in the armed forces
drafted all able-bodied youths
b. Australia : to separate into flocks : select and detach (an animal) from a herd for a special purpose
draft sheep and take them to sale
2.
a. : to make a draft of : draw the preliminary sketch or plan of : outline
drafting speeches to be polished and styled by his resourceful secretary
b. : to draw up : compose , prepare , frame
at once drafted a telegram, signing it with the code word which he employed in emergencies — John Buchan
drafting plans to meet the anticipated emergency
3. : to draw up, off, or away
all pumpers should be capable of drafting water where necessary — Fire Manual (Massachusetts)
her rents had been drafted to London — Henry Fielding
4. : to reduce (fiber webs, slivers, or rovings) in bulk in the processes between loose fiber and spun yarn
5. : to design (a pattern) in weaving for drawing in warp threads
6. : to mark (as a stone) with a draft in masonry
7. : to draw or stretch (leather) in the lasting of shoes
intransitive verb
: to engage in drafting (as of documents) : practice draftsmanship
if anyone thinks that he can draft more simply …, I advise him to try his hand — Ernest Gowers
IV. intransitive verb
: to stay close behind another racer while racing at high speed in order to take advantage of the reduced air pressure created by the leading racer
V. noun
: a pocket of reduced air pressure behind a moving object ; also : the use of such a draft to save energy