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

• 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

The president was spotted peeking at the design, drawn up by Harrison Design, during a meeting in the Oval Office with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. —Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 11 Oct. 2025

Ahead of the fair, the Deadline International team has been beavering away behind the scenes to draw up lists of our annual Hot Ones in drama, docs and formats. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025

Plans were also drawn up to expand the Bridgford Stand, the section of the ground where away fans are housed. —Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025

The first 30 years of exoplanet science focused on discovery and of finding as many planets of all different types as possible so that scientists could draw up statistics for how common each type of planet is. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2025

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