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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of drawing up
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
The United States seriously contemplated striking North Korea’s Yongbyon reactor in 1993, even drawing up military plans to attack the site with penetrating munitions delivered by stealth bombers.
—Vipin Narang, Foreign Affairs, 5 Sep. 2025
California is drawing up its own map in retaliation, with leaders from New York, Maryland, and Illinois signaling similar plans.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Aug. 2025
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
The United States seriously contemplated striking North Korea’s Yongbyon reactor in 1993, even drawing up military plans to attack the site with penetrating munitions delivered by stealth bombers.
—Vipin Narang, Foreign Affairs, 5 Sep. 2025
California is drawing up its own map in retaliation, with leaders from New York, Maryland, and Illinois signaling similar plans.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drawing up
Verb
-
That suit, which Lukenbill’s attorneys Brad Carroll and Michael Laino filed July 11, was primarily concerned with stopping efforts by the city to limit occupancy at the bar.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Chappell Roan’s new hair color Based on reviews of the New York shows, KC audiences should expect show-stopping moments, a new hair color for the famous redhead, an emotional speech of thanks and perhaps a special guest.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Forecasters give Sherrill an advantage, with both the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball classifying the race as Leans Democrat.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
-
One example is neuron selectivity in neural networks for classifying images.—
Ben Brubaker,
Quanta Magazine,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Broncos were without timeouts, so Nix was preparing to get in position to clock the ball and give Wil Lutz a field-goal attempt.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Virginia’s large population of federal workers is preparing for major disruption.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The year Goldberg-Polin and her family arrived in Israel, the country launched Operation Cast Lead, a massive military operation aimed at halting intensifying Hamas mortar, missile and rocket fire terrorizing southern Israeli communities.—
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Attorneys for the Justice Department argued that halting the reallocations could delay distributing the funds to other states DHS had identified as higher priority under its new approach.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Hangers That Don’t Match Since her clients hire her to help create a clean, organized look, Tonia Tomlin of Sorted Out, a professional organizing company in Dallas, Texas, heads right for the closets and starts ditching all hangers that don’t match.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Certainly, some grassroots groups are organizing effectively.—
Sarah Stankorb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
For Ares, Nine Inch Nails will be composing the soundtrack, bringing their iconic industrial rock sound to the Grid.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
-
The difference is that composing while in motion may be a particularly useful way to address a crisis in creativity.—
Karen Palmer
September 19,
Literary Hub,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Diggs did play in the game and made a crucial defensive play late in the second half, reading a Packers screen in the red zone and forcing Green Bay behind the sticks, stalling its momentum.—
Cole Sullivan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
-
That doesn’t mean the technology is stalling because automakers will continue to roll out advanced driver-assistance technology on more and more vehicles.—
Eric D. Lawrence,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Elite Asian Matchmaker is a white-glove service that handles all the logistics, from vetting potential matches to arranging dates, allowing clients to simply show up and enjoy the experience.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The tour company optimized the schedule to match workers' paid time off, by arranging departure days scheduled around holidays or weekends, which minimizes the days a traveler would need to take from work.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drawing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drawing%20up. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share