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

The shortlist is drawn up by FIFA’s technical study group and then members of the media vote to decide the winners of these trophies. — Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 17 July 2026

Calamos Global Dynamic Income might be drawing up another peak, which would give some would-be investors pause. — Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026

Even more intriguing was this follow-up report in which Deadline revealed that Sky top brass, led by American exec Dana Strong, are already drawing up plans to get the likes of SNL UK and The Day of the Jackal on to ITV’s main network. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 10 July 2026

Other teams on the list James’ agent Rich Paul drew up are the NBA star’s hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks. — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 9 July 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