draftsman

[ drafts-muhn, drahfts- ]

noun

, plural drafts·men.

1. a person employed in making mechanical drawings, as of machines, structures, etc.
2. a person who draws sketches, plans, or designs.
3. an artist exceptionally skilled in drawing:

   Matisse was a superb draftsman.

4. a person who draws up documents.
5. draughtsman ( def 1 ).

draftsman

/ ˈdrɑːftsmən /

noun

1. the usual US spelling of draughtsman draughtsman

Gender Note

See -man.

Derived Forms

• ˈdraftsmanship, noun

Other Words From

• draftsman·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of draftsman¹

First recorded in 1655–65; draft + 's ¹ + man

Example Sentences

Over the decades, the drawing has been loaned as a Michelangelo work to exhibitions in Japan, Canada, China and, most recently, the United States, where it was included in the Metropolitan Museum’s blockbuster 2017 show “Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer.”

From New York Times

The catalog entry for that exhibition, by Carmen C. Bambach, the Met’s curator of drawings and prints, describes it as “the only surviving manifestation of Michelangelo’s skill as a draftsman in large scale.”

From New York Times

His father, who had immigrated from Sweden and taught himself English, became a naval draftsman, specializing in freshwater plumbing for ships; he was also a talented amateur woodworker, and his basement shop became a favorite haunt for Carl, his only son.

From New York Times

He worked variously as a private investigator, machinist and draftsman.

From Los Angeles Times

As Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman recounted in “The King of California,” their 2003 book about Boswell and his nephew and successor, James G. Boswell II: “No longer content with simply siphoning water from the Kings, Tule and Kaweah, farmers began altering the very bend of the rivers, turning meanders into lines as perfect as a draftsman’s.”

From Los Angeles Times