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

Alexander Pröll, the official in Chancellor Christian Stocker's office responsible for digitization, said that draft legislation will be drawn up by the end of June. —ABC News, 27 Mar. 2026

How Mendoza would draw up the rest of the lineup against flame-throwing Pirates ace Paul Skenes was more of a question mark. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2026

Many of the markets on Kalshi are initially suggested by users, then reviewed by a team at Kalshi before eventually having rules drawn up and posted on the site. —David Hill, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026

The man who drew up the game-winning play in the College Football Playoff National Championship game for Indiana almost never went into football at all. —Bob Pompeani, CBS News, 24 Mar. 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