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

• arrest
• bring up
• catch
• check
• fetch up
• halt
• hold up
• pull up
• stall
• stay
• still
• stop

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

Trades during the draft come in a variety of ways but rarely stray too far from the chart NFL Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson drew up. —Phil Rogers, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025

At a press conference, Trump refused to rule out using economic coercion, or even military force, to get his way—news reports later revealed that the White House had directed the Pentagon to draw up plans to seize the waterway by force. —Lynn Kuok, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2025

Sampson drew up a play for L.J. Cryer, Houston’s all-everything guard. —Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025

The European Union has also drawn up plans to mobilize up to 800 billion euros ($883 billion) to bolster regional security. —Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 8 Apr. 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