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 of draw up

• 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

Many people struggled to determine how much liquid to add to dissolve the powder and the correct dose to draw up once it was dissolved. — C. Michael White, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2026

The plans for a new facility have been drawn up and hospital leaders are confident construction will be wrapped by the deadline. — Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

The lessons shared Monday weren’t intended to help coaches draw up better game plans. — Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 5 Aug. 2026

The Athletic has previously reported that Grafstrom was not aware of the FFE scheme, which had been drawn up by Infantino. — Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026

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