draught

[ draft, drahft ]

noun

1. draughts, (used with a singular verb) British. the game of checkers.
2. Chiefly British. draft ( defs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 38 ).

verb (used with object)

1. Chiefly British. draft ( defs 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 ).

verb (used without object)

1. Chiefly British. draft ( def 33 ).

adjective

1. Chiefly British. draft ( defs 35, 36, 37 ).

draught

/ drɑːft /

noun

1. a current of air, esp one intruding into an enclosed space
2. 1. the act of pulling a load, as by a vehicle or animal
   2. ( as modifier )

      a draught horse

3. the load or quantity drawn
4. a portion of liquid to be drunk, esp a dose of medicine
5. the act or an instance of drinking; a gulp or swallow
6. the act or process of drawing air, smoke, etc, into the lungs
7. the amount of air, smoke, etc, inhaled in one breath
8. 1. beer, wine, etc, stored in bulk, esp in a cask, as opposed to being bottled
   2. ( as modifier )

      draught beer

   3. drawn from a cask or keg
9. Also calleddraughtsman any one of the 12 flat thick discs used by each player in the game of draughts US and Canadian equivalentchecker
10. the depth of a loaded vessel in the water, taken from the level of the waterline to the lowest point of the hull
11. feel the draught
    to be short of money

Pronunciation Note

Draught is a variant spelling of draft and is normally pronounced the same way, as [draft] or [drahft] or with a vowel somewhere between [a] and [ah]. A pronunciation [drawt] is sometimes heard for draught, perhaps because -aught is frequently pronounced [-awt] elsewhere, as in caught and taught.

Derived Forms

• ˈdraughter, noun

Other Words From

• draughter noun
• under·draught noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of draught¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English draht (cognate with Dutch dracht, German Tracht, Old Norse drāttr ); akin to Old English dragan “to plug, drag, draw,” drōht “a pull (at the oars)”; draw

Word History and Origins

Origin of draught¹

C14: probably from Old Norse drahtr, of Germanic origin; related to draw

Example Sentences

On alcohol duties, she said that, from February 2025, there would be a 1.7% reduction in draught beer duty, to shave "a penny off a pint in the pub".

From BBC

The average price of a pint of draught lager was £4.79 in September, according to the Office for National Statistics.

From BBC

The final was of a lesser standard, though, with both players irritated by a draught, but Humphries kept a consistent average of above 100 throughout and eventually found his checkout game to seal the win.

From BBC

He drank large draughts of his wine and ran about everywhere like a wild animal, shouting and yodeling.

From Literature

Also going are sofa beds, with pull-out beds becoming more popular, as well as hot rotisserie-cooked whole chicken, and draught stout - because its price movements are very similar to draught bitter.

From BBC

Related Words

• application
• dosage
• lot
• measure
• measurement
• prescription
• quantity
• shot