draft

[ draft, drahft ]

noun

1. a drawing, sketch, or design.
2. a first or preliminary form of any writing, subject to revision, copying, etc.
3. the act of drawing; delineation.
4. a current of air in any enclosed space, especially in a room, chimney, or stove.
5. a current of air moving in an upward or downward direction.
6. a device for regulating the current of air in a stove, fireplace, etc.
7. an act of drawing or pulling loads.
8. something that is drawn or pulled; a haul.
9. an animal or team of animals used to pull a load.
10. the force required to pull a load.
11. the taking of supplies, forces, money, etc., from a given source.
12. a selection or drawing of persons, by lot or otherwise, from the general body of the people for military service; levy; conscription.
13. the persons so selected.
14. Sports. a selecting or drawing of new players from a choice group of amateur players by professional teams, especially a system of selecting new players so that each team in a professional league receives some of the most promising players.
15. British. a selection of persons already in military service to be sent from one post or organization to another; detachment.
16. a written order drawn by one person upon another; a writing directing the payment of money on account of the drawer; bill of exchange.
17. a drain or demand made on anything.
18. draft beer.
19. an act of drinking or inhaling.
20. something that is taken in by drinking or inhaling; a drink; dose.
21. a quantity of fish caught.
22. Nautical. the depth to which a vessel is immersed when bearing a given load.
23. Also called leave. Metallurgy. the slight taper given to a pattern so that it may be drawn from the sand without injury to the mold.
24. Metalworking.
    1. the change in sectional area of a piece of work caused by a rolling or drawing operation.
    2. a taper on a die or punch permitting it to be withdrawn readily from the work.
25. Masonry. a line or border chiseled at the edge of a stone, to serve as a guide in leveling the surfaces.
26. Textiles.
    1. the degree of attenuation produced in fibers during yarn processing, expressed either by the ratio of the weight of raw fiber to the weight of processed fiber, or by the ratio between the varying surface speeds of the rollers on the carding machine.
    2. the act of attenuating the fibers.
27. an allowance granted to a buyer for waste of goods sold by weight.

verb (used with object)

1. to draw the outlines or plan of; sketch.
2. to draw up in written form; compose.
3. to draw or pull.
4. to take or select by draft, especially for military service.
5. Masonry. to cut a draft on.

verb (used without object)

1. to do mechanical drawing; work as a draftsman.
2. (in a race) to drive or ride close behind another car or bicycle so as to benefit from the reduction in air pressure created behind it.

adjective

1. used or suited for drawing loads:

   These oxen are fine draft animals.

2. drawn or available to be drawn from a cask rather than served from a sealed bottle:

   draft ale.

3. being a tentative or preliminary outline, version, design, or sketch.

draft

/ drɑːft /

noun

1. a plan, sketch, or drawing of something
2. a preliminary outline of a book, speech, etc
3. another word for bill of exchange
4. a demand or drain on something
5. the divergent duct leading from a water turbine to its tailrace
6. selection for compulsory military service
7. detachment of military personnel from one unit to another
8. commerce an allowance on merchandise sold by weight
9. a line or narrow border that is chiselled on the surface of a stone to serve as a guide for levelling it
10. a group of livestock separated from the rest of the herd or flock

verb

1. to draw up an outline or sketch for something

   to draft a speech

2. to prepare a plan or design of
3. to detach (military personnel) from one unit to another
4. to select for compulsory military service
5. to chisel a draft on (stone, etc)
6. 1. to select (cattle or sheep) from a herd or flock
   2. to select (farm stock) for sale

noun

1. the usual US spelling of draught draught draught draught draught draught draught draught draught

draft

¹

1. A preliminary version of a book, speech, essay , or outline.

draft

²

1. A system for selecting young men for compulsory military service, administered in the United States by the Selective Service System . At present the United States relies on a volunteer military and does not have a draft, though young men are required by law to register with the Selective Service. ( See also conscientious objector and draft dodger .)

Derived Forms

• ˈdrafter, noun

Other Words From

• draft·a·ble adjective
• draft·er noun
• an·ti·draft adjective
• pre·draft noun verb (used with object)
• re·draft verb (used with object)
• un·draft·a·ble adjective
• un·draft·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of draft¹

Later spelling of draught (since 16th century)

Word History and Origins

Origin of draft¹

C16: variant of draught

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on draft, available to be drawn from a cask rather than from a sealed bottle:

   imported beer on draft.

Example Sentences

Trump rattled wide swaths of the U.S. defense establishment this week with a draft executive order, whose existence was reported Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal, to create a special panel — dubbed a “warrior board” — that would have the power to force out high-ranking generals and admirals.

From Los Angeles Times

FAIR’s affiliate legal organization worked to draft a bill in Arizona that gave law enforcement the right to stop people for proof of citizenship.

From Salon

In December, the Welsh government will publish its draft budget.

From BBC

It will announce longer-term spending decisions within its draft budget over the weeks ahead.

From BBC

The California Phone-Free Schools Act ordered the state’s 1,000 school districts, charter schools and county education offices to draft student cellphone policies by July 1, 2026 — and leaves it up to schools to decide whether to enforce outright bans or some level of restrictions to “support pupil learning and well-being.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blueprint
• outline
• version