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

And even beyond the storms themselves, meteorologists face additional uncertainty in drawing up a forecast. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2025

The Office of Management and Budget has ordered agencies to draw up reduction-in-force plans that would permanently cut positions in programs without dedicated funding streams. —Nik Popli, Time, 25 Sep. 2025

For the past three years, engineering consultant Michael Antinelli has worked with the city of Miami Beach and its residents to draw up individualized flood-prevention plans. —Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025

Working with a broadcasting code that was drawn up decades ago, Ofcom has been trying and failing to get to grips with these issues almost since GB News launched four years back. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 22 Sep. 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