1
as in stopping
to bring (something) to a standstill
he drew up his horse outside the tavern
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in classifying
to put into a particular arrangement
drew up the troops into a line along the ridge
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in preparing
to put (something) into proper and usually carefully worked out written form
draw up a proposal and submit it to the committee for approval
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of drawing up
When building a game plan and drawing up pass plays, knowing that Jackson, Dalman and Thuney are more likely than not to keep the middle of the pocket clean plays a role.
—
Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
The Red Sox understandably are drawing up contingency plans to replace the three-time All-Star who will turn 32 at the start of next season.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
And even beyond the storms themselves, meteorologists face additional uncertainty in drawing up a forecast.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2025
The amendments resulted in Colorado drawing up the 8th Congressional District — a new seat granted to the state after the 2020 census — as one of the most competitive seats in the country.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
Flores is known for drawing up aggressive blitz packages, with the Vikings’ 49 sacks last season tied for fourth-most in the NFL.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 15 Sep. 2025
And Roman delivered the game plan, utilizing four-wide receiver sets and going heavy on play action, drawing up some nifty passing plays gave Herbert wide-open throws deep.
—Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
Deadline reported last month that Ashling O’Connor, a consultant at executive search firm Spencer Stuart, has circulated a brief for the CEO position and is drawing up a list of potential candidates.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
McCarthy was having some trouble doing so to start this game, as the Bears’ defense, led by new coordinator Dennis Allen, was drawing up the right pressures to fluster the young signal caller.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
The Red Sox understandably are drawing up contingency plans to replace the three-time All-Star who will turn 32 at the start of next season.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
And even beyond the storms themselves, meteorologists face additional uncertainty in drawing up a forecast.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2025
The amendments resulted in Colorado drawing up the 8th Congressional District — a new seat granted to the state after the 2020 census — as one of the most competitive seats in the country.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
Flores is known for drawing up aggressive blitz packages, with the Vikings’ 49 sacks last season tied for fourth-most in the NFL.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 15 Sep. 2025
And Roman delivered the game plan, utilizing four-wide receiver sets and going heavy on play action, drawing up some nifty passing plays gave Herbert wide-open throws deep.
—Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
Deadline reported last month that Ashling O’Connor, a consultant at executive search firm Spencer Stuart, has circulated a brief for the CEO position and is drawing up a list of potential candidates.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
McCarthy was having some trouble doing so to start this game, as the Bears’ defense, led by new coordinator Dennis Allen, was drawing up the right pressures to fluster the young signal caller.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drawing up
Verb
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The Rhode founder and her stylist Dani Michele delivered a show-stopping moment on the red carpet, pulling a shimmering 2009 Armani Privé gown from the archives.—
Meg Walters,
InStyle,
10 Jan. 2026
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Stroll through the Funk Zone, stopping at wineries, breweries, and local shops along the way.—
Chantelle Kincy,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Unlike an image-classifying neural network, a PINN doesn’t learn by studying external data.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
9 Jan. 2026
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Similarly, ride-share services like Uber and Lyft have faced multiple lawsuits for classifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, allowing the companies to avoid providing minimum wage, overtime pay and other benefits.—
Lauren Wilson,
NBC news,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Packers are preparing for a wild-card game Saturday night in Chicago.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
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Listen to Glaser discuss preparing to host the 2026 Golden Globes on Ripa's podcast episode above.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The performer delivered her opening monologue in a traffic-halting dress that featured a strapless neckline, thigh-high slit, and huge cloud-like skirt.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
13 Jan. 2026
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Their ignorance makes these militiamen quite ineffective at halting their own intelligence breaches.—
Elizabeth Tsurkov,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Resist the Temptation to Dig In The hardest part of building a charcuterie board is avoiding the temptation to start snacking as soon as you’re done arranging the board.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 Jan. 2026
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As a newcomer to composing and arranging for strings, Simon benefitted greatly by working with a group readily available for consultation and collaboration.—
Andrew Gilbert,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Moon’s last credit, as shared on his IMDB page, was composing the music for the 2025 series The Artist.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
11 Jan. 2026
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Now, GenAI is enabling computers to learn patterns from massive datasets and to generate brand-new content on their own, such as writing human-like stories, say, or creating original images, or even composing music.—
Glenn Hunter,
Dallas Morning News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Sliding rents and soaring construction costs have pinched developers, Brending said, stalling at least three large-scale projects in the State Street district.—
Mark Dee,
Idaho Statesman,
14 Jan. 2026
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Brown went on to insist his team was not stalling while working on the case, according to the Post.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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They’re designed with roomy interiors and tons of compartments that make organizing your packing essentials extremely easy.—
Jasmine Gomez,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Jan. 2026
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Matembe says that opposition groups had been blocked from campaigning and organizing freely and that voters had even been barred from staying behind to monitor the count after casting their ballots.—
Emmanuel Akinwotu,
NPR,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Drawing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drawing%20up. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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