draw out

verb

drew out; drawn out; drawing out; draws out

transitive verb

1

: remove, extract

2

: to extend beyond a minimum in time : protract sense 1

3

: to cause to speak freely

a reporter's ability to draw a person out

Synonyms

• lengthen
• increase
• extend
• stretch
• drag (out)
• prolong

Examples of draw out in a Sentence

the actor refused to draw out the interview any further

Recent Examples on the Web

It was created by first taking hundreds of images and stacking them together, drawing out faint color differences during processing — particularly titanium (blue) and iron (orange and brown). —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025

Reunion host Nick Viall drew out the suspense, announcing the two new ballroom additions. —Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 2 July 2025

Making her directorial debut, Stern deftly draws out her subject. —Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025

Among the many topics that the duo discussed amid the chaos of the fires was the simmering tensions within the talent agency over Zimmer’s leadership, and the unexpected public and financial costs of the ugly, drawn out public feud with Kassan. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 9 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for draw out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

draw out

verb

1

: to cause to last longer than usual

2

: to cause or encourage to speak freely

tried to draw the shy child out