draw up

verb

drew up; drawn up; drawing up; draws up

transitive verb

1

: to bring (a body of troops) into array

2

: to prepare a draft or version of

draw up plans

3

: to bring to a halt

4

: to straighten (oneself) to an erect posture especially as an assertion of dignity or resentment

intransitive verb

: to come to a halt

the car drew up at the door

Synonyms of draw up

• stop
• halt
• catch
• stall
• pull up
• check
• stay

Examples of draw up in a Sentence

he drew up his horse outside the tavern

drew up the troops into a line along the ridge

Recent Examples on the Web

Fan zones will draw up to 50,000 people for major matches. —John Samuels, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026

The first American arms began to be drawn up hours after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. —Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026

The winning play was prefaced by Raptors assistant Amar Batra drawing up a play for Baron, whom Edina had been guarding with a short-stick defender. —Tris Wykes, Twin Cities, 9 June 2026

For this article, a longlist of games was drawn up and then a panel of our journalists ranked them in order of most importance. —Will Jeanes, New York Times, 5 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for draw up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

draw up

verb

1

: to arrange (as troops) in order

2

: to prepare a draft or version of

draw up plans

3

: to straighten (oneself) to an erect posture

drew himself up angrily and left the room

4

: to bring or come to a stop

the car drew up at the door