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draft

noun \ ˈdraft , ˈdräft \
|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Definition of draft

1 fishing
a : the act of drawing or pulling in a net
b : haul 2b
  • a draft of fish
2 a : the act or an instance of drinking or inhaling
  • a last draft on her cigarette
; also : the portion drunk or inhaled in one such act
b : a portion poured out or mixed for drinking : dose
3 mechanical engineering
a : the force required to pull a plow or other implement
b : load or load-pulling capacity
  • the draft of a typical draft horse
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
  • a draft for a future skyscraper
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 lengthening or stretching something (such as threads or metal)
7 a : the act of causing a liquid to come out of a container or source : the act of drawing (as from a cask or keg)
b : a portion of liquid so drawn
  • a draft of ale
c : draft (see 2draft 2) beer
  • a glass of draft
8 nautical : the depth of water a ship draws (see 1draw transitive 6) especially when loaded
9 a (1) : a system for or act of selecting individuals from a group (as for compulsory military service)
  • debating whether or not to institute a draft
(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 sports : a system whereby exclusive rights to selected new players are apportioned among professional teams
  • He was chosen in the first round of the draft.
10 a : an order for the payment of money drawn (see 1draw 7c) 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)
  • open the draft
12 : angle, taper; specifically, industrial engineering : the taper (see 2taper 2b) given to a pattern or die (see 2die 3) so that the work can be easily withdrawn
13 : a pocket of reduced air pressure behind a moving object; also, racing sports : the use of such a draft to save energy
— on draft
: ready to be drawn from a receptacle
  • beer on draft

See draft defined for English-language learners

See draft defined for kids

Examples of draft in a Sentence

  1. The published poem differs quite a bit from earlier drafts.

  2. You may want to seal the windows with plastic to stop drafts.

Recent Examples of draft from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'draft.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of draft

Middle English draght; akin to Old English dragan to draw — more at draw

draft Synonyms

Synonyms

burden, cargo, freight, haul, lading, load, loading, payload, weight;

Related Words

consignment;

boatload, carload, shipload, trainload, truckload, wagonload;

ballast, deadweight;

overload, surcharge;

bale, bundle, pack, package, packet, parcel, shipment;

manifest;

body, bulk, mass;

2

draft

adjective

Definition of draft

1 animal husbandry : used or adapted for drawing loads
  • draft horses
2 : being or having been ready to be drawn from a receptacle : being or having been on draft
  • drinking draft beer

See draft defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of draft from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'draft.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of draft

see 1draft

Other Alcoholic Beverage Terms

finish, gimlet, mull, sake, setup, sommelier, syllabub, vintner, wassail

3

draft

verb

Definition of draft

transitive verb
1 : to select for some purpose: such as
a : to conscript for military service
  • was drafted and sent overseas
b sports : to select (a professional athlete) by draft
  • got drafted by the Yankees
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 drafted by pumps
4 racing sports : 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 racing sports : to draft another racer (as in car or bike racing)
—

draftable

play \ˈdraf-tə-bəl, ˈdräf-\ adjective
—

draftee

play \ˌdraf-ˈtē, ˌdräf-\ noun
—

drafter

play \ˈdraf-tər, ˈdräf-\ noun

See draft defined for English-language learners

Examples of draft in a Sentence

  1. The two countries are drafting a treaty.

  2. The drama club drafted three teenagers to be in the parade.

  3. The legislature debated drafting more soldiers.

  4. The new rule prohibits teams from drafting players under 18.

Recent Examples of draft from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'draft.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of draft

see 1draft

draft Synonyms

Synonyms

bleed, drain, draw (off), pump, siphon (also syphon), tap;

Antonyms

fill;

Near Antonyms

bathe, douse (also dowse), drench, soak, souse, wash, water, wet;

deluge, drown, flood, inundate, overflow;

submerge, swamp;

Related Words

milk;

suck;

clear, empty, evacuate, exhaust, vacate, vacuate, void;

decant, effuse;

deplete;

clean, flush, purge;

Phrases Related to DRAFT

Related Phrases

DRAFT Defined for English Language Learners

draft

noun

Definition of draft for English Language Learners

  • : a version of something (such as a document) that you make before you make the final version

  • : cool air moving in a closed space (such as a room)

  • : a system in which young people are required to join the armed forces of a country for a period of service

draft

adjective

Definition of draft for English Language Learners

  • of an animal : used for pulling heavy loads

  • of beer : stored in and poured from a large container

  • : not yet in the final form

draft

verb

Definition of draft for English Language Learners

  • : to make a version of (something, such as a document or plan) that will need more work in order to be finished

  • : to choose (someone) for a special purpose

  • : to officially order (someone) to join the armed forces

DRAFT Defined for Kids

1

draft

noun \ ˈdraft , ˈdräft \

Definition of draft for Students

1 : a version of something written or drawn (as an essay, document, or plan) that has or will have more than one version
  • I finished the rough draft of my report.
2 : a current of air
3 : a device to regulate an air supply (as in a fireplace)
4 : the act of pulling or hauling : the thing or amount pulled
  • a beast of draft
5 : the act or an instance of drinking or inhaling : the portion drunk or inhaled at one time
  • He took a draft of his drink.
6 : the act of drawing out liquid (as from a cask) : a portion of liquid drawn out
  • a draft of beer
7 : the depth of water a ship needs in order to float
8 : the practice of ordering people into military service
9 : the practice of choosing someone to play on a professional sports team
10 : an order made by one person or organization to another to pay money to a third person or organization
2

draft

adjective

Definition of draft for Students

1 : used for pulling loads
  • a draft animal
2 : not in final form
  • a draft report
3 : ready to be drawn from a container
  • draft beer
3

draft

verb

Definition of draft for Students

drafted; drafting
1 : to write or draw a version of something (as an essay or plan) that usually needs more work
2 : to choose someone to do something
  • Mom drafted us to clean the garage.
3 : to pick especially for required military service

Medical Dictionary

draft

noun
variants: or chiefly British draught play \ˈdraft, ˈdrȧft\

medical Definition of draft

1 : a portion (as of medicine) poured out or mixed for drinking : dose
2 : a current of air in a closed-in space
—

drafty

or chiefly British draughty play \ˈdraf-tē, ˈdrȧf-\ adjective

Law Dictionary

1

draft

noun

legal Definition of draft

1 : a preliminary version of something (as a law)
2 a : a system for or act of selecting individuals from a group (as for military service)
b : the act or process of selecting an individual (as for political candidacy) without his or her expressed consent
3 : an order for the payment of money drawn by one person or bank on another — see also drawee, drawer — compare check
— documentary draft
: a draft that will be honored only upon the presentation of certain documents (as an invoice or certificate of title)
— sight draft
: a draft payable on presentation
— time draft
: a draft payable a specified number of days after the date of the draft or of its presentation
2

draft

transitive verb

legal Definition of draft

1 : to select for some purpose; specifically : to conscript for military service
2 : to compose or prepare especially the preliminary version of
  • drafting legislation
intransitive verb
: to practice draftsmanship
—

drafter

noun

Learn More about draft

  1. See words that rhyme with draft Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for draft Spanish Central: Translation of draft Nglish: Translation of draft for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of draft for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about draft

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