draw·down
ˈdrȯ-ˌdau̇n 
1
: a lowering of a water level (as in a reservoir)
2
a
: the process of depleting
b
drew down; drawn down; drawing down; draws down
: to deplete by using or spending
Synonyms
Examples of drawdown in a Sentence
Verb
I drew down my bank account just paying for tuition.
Recent Examples on the Web
Matt Stevens, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
The replenishment funds have allowed the Pentagon to pull existing munitions, air defense systems and other weapons from its reserve inventories under presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, to send to Ukraine and then put contracts on order to replace those weapons.
—CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024
But equities also suffer more frequent and significant drawdowns and exhibit higher average volatility.
—Steven Desmyter, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
The discovery resulted in a surplus that the department used for presidential drawdown packages until the end of December.
—CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024
President Biden has approved the provision of U.S. cluster munitions for Ukraine, with drawdown of the weapons from Defense Department stocks due to be announced Friday.
—Missy Ryan, Washington Post, 7 July 2023
That’s greenwashing, according to Kate Dooley, a researcher at the University of Melbourne who has studied nature restoration’s carbon drawdown.
—Alec Luhn, WIRED, 13 Dec. 2023
In the months leading up to the back-to-back shootings, sales at Lake City had slumped amid troop drawdowns and the election of President Donald J. Trump, which soothed fears of new gun restrictions.
—Ben Dooley Emily Rhyne, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Combat also flared in northern Gaza, where some civilians have been trying to return home after a partial drawdown of Israeli troops in the area.
—Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 18 Jan. 2024
CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
Democrats also agreed to draw down at least another $12.2 billion from the rainy day fund to cover their spending.
—Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The program has seen an enrollment surge since the start of 2023, drawing down federal funds faster than anticipated, experts say.
—Marianna Sotomayor, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024
During his first two and a half years in office, the SPR was drawn down by 291 million barrels, to the lowest level since 1983.
—Robert Rapier, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
Until tax revenues are less volatile, the state will continue to frequently face difficult decisions on spending cuts and drawing down rainy-day funds to handle deficits.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Jan. 2024
The $150 billion shortfall will be made up by drawing down on the program’s $2.63 trillion trust fund.
—Karl W. Smith, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The risk of car price spikes is further dampened by a recovery in automotive inventories to their highest level since May 2020, after being drawn down sharply during the pandemic.
—David Lawder, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Mar. 2024
Lax rules — or no rules at all — could give companies a way to keep polluting while misleadingly promising to draw down those emissions later.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 20 Feb. 2024
Noun
The drawdown from Khan Younis, about four months after Israeli forces invaded southern Gaza, raised questions about Israel’s plans in the face of widespread calls for it to de-escalate the conflict.
—Matt Stevens, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
The replenishment funds have allowed the Pentagon to pull existing munitions, air defense systems and other weapons from its reserve inventories under presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, to send to Ukraine and then put contracts on order to replace those weapons.
—CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024
But equities also suffer more frequent and significant drawdowns and exhibit higher average volatility.
—Steven Desmyter, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
The discovery resulted in a surplus that the department used for presidential drawdown packages until the end of December.
—CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024
President Biden has approved the provision of U.S. cluster munitions for Ukraine, with drawdown of the weapons from Defense Department stocks due to be announced Friday.
—Missy Ryan, Washington Post, 7 July 2023
That’s greenwashing, according to Kate Dooley, a researcher at the University of Melbourne who has studied nature restoration’s carbon drawdown.
—Alec Luhn, WIRED, 13 Dec. 2023
In the months leading up to the back-to-back shootings, sales at Lake City had slumped amid troop drawdowns and the election of President Donald J. Trump, which soothed fears of new gun restrictions.
—Ben Dooley Emily Rhyne, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Combat also flared in northern Gaza, where some civilians have been trying to return home after a partial drawdown of Israeli troops in the area.
—Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 18 Jan. 2024
Verb
Water is being released at nearly 260 cubic feet per second to draw down the reservoir below the crack.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
Democrats also agreed to draw down at least another $12.2 billion from the rainy day fund to cover their spending.
—Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The program has seen an enrollment surge since the start of 2023, drawing down federal funds faster than anticipated, experts say.
—Marianna Sotomayor, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024
During his first two and a half years in office, the SPR was drawn down by 291 million barrels, to the lowest level since 1983.
—Robert Rapier, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
Until tax revenues are less volatile, the state will continue to frequently face difficult decisions on spending cuts and drawing down rainy-day funds to handle deficits.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Jan. 2024
The $150 billion shortfall will be made up by drawing down on the program’s $2.63 trillion trust fund.
—Karl W. Smith, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The risk of car price spikes is further dampened by a recovery in automotive inventories to their highest level since May 2020, after being drawn down sharply during the pandemic.
—David Lawder, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Mar. 2024
Lax rules — or no rules at all — could give companies a way to keep polluting while misleadingly promising to draw down those emissions later.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 20 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drawdown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near drawdown
Cite this Entry
“Drawdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drawdown. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share