draft

noun \ ˈdraft , ˈdräft \

Updated on: 10 Dec 2017

Definition of draft

1 fishing

a : the act of drawing or pulling in a net

b : haul 2b

a draft of fish

2 a : the act or an instance of drinking or inhaling

a last draft on her cigarette

; also : the portion drunk or inhaled in one such act

b : a portion poured out or mixed for drinking : dose

3 mechanical engineering

a : the force required to pull a plow or other implement

b : load or load-pulling capacity

the draft of a typical draft horse

4 a : the act of moving loads by drawing or pulling : pull

b : a team of animals together with what they draw

5 a : delineation, representation

a draft for a future skyscraper

b : scheme, design

c : a preliminary sketch, outline, or version

the author's first draft

a draft treaty

6 : the act, result, or plan of lengthening or stretching something (such as threads or metal)

7 a : the act of causing a liquid to come out of a container or source : the act of drawing (as from a cask or keg)

b : a portion of liquid so drawn

a draft of ale

c : draft (see ²draft 2) beer

a glass of draft

8 nautical : the depth of water a ship draws (see ¹draw transitive 6) especially when loaded

9 a (1) : a system for or act of selecting individuals from a group (as for compulsory military service)

debating whether or not to institute a draft

(2) : an act or process of selecting an individual (as for political candidacy) without the individual's expressed consent

b : a group of individuals selected especially by military draft

c sports : a system whereby exclusive rights to selected new players are apportioned among professional teams

He was chosen in the first round of the draft.

10 a : an order for the payment of money drawn (see ¹draw 7c) by one person or bank on another

b : the act or an instance of drawing from or making demands upon something : demand

11 a : a current of air in a closed-in space

felt a draft

b : a device for regulating the flow of air (as in a fireplace)

open the draft

12 : angle, taper; specifically, industrial engineering : the taper (see ²taper 2b) given to a pattern or die (see ²die 3) so that the work can be easily withdrawn

13 : a pocket of reduced air pressure behind a moving object; also, racing sports : the use of such a draft to save energy

— on draft

: ready to be drawn from a receptacle

beer on draft

See draft defined for English-language learners

See draft defined for kids

Examples of draft in a Sentence

The published poem differs quite a bit from earlier drafts.
You may want to seal the windows with plastic to stop drafts.

Recent Examples of draft from the Web

The Bengals would have received a nice haul — a second-round draft pick and a third-round pick — for backup quarterback AJ McCarron, who likely would have gone on to be the new starter in Cleveland.

— gentry estes, The Courier-Journal, "Morning Coffee: Cleveland Browns somehow botch last-minute trade with Cincinnati Bengals," 2 Nov. 2017
As unpredictable as baseball-player development can be, most of the best athletes were still either top draft picks or big-money international signees.

— alex putterman, The Atlantic, "Jose Altuve, Baseball’s Unlikeliest Superstar," 6 Oct. 2017
Newton also has had to adapt to new receivers all around him, with the Panthers adding backfield target Christian McCaffrey and speedy Curtis Samuels in the draft and losing Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen to a foot injury in the second game.

— mark inabinett, AL.com, "Atlanta Falcons facing Cam Newton, 'the best player in our league'," 5 Nov. 2017
Dosunmu's intent underscores the foolishness of high school players having to attend one year of college before becoming eligible for the NBA draft.

— pat disabato, Daily Southtown, "Beware, Morgan Park's Ayo Dosunmu could be one and done at Illinois," 3 Nov. 2017
The Enquirer learned the Bengals would have received second- and third-round picks in the 2018 draft.

— jim owczarski, Cincinnati.com, "How the Cleveland Browns’ trade for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron fell apart," 1 Nov. 2017
By September 26, influenza had spread across the country, and so many military training camps were beginning to look like Devens that the Army canceled its nationwide draft call.

— john m. barry, Smithsonian, "How the Horrific 1918 Flu Spread Across America," 25 Oct. 2017
The paper reports Wiehl's attorneys sent a draft of a lawsuit to O'Reilly on Jan. 2, and the parties reached a settlement a few days later.

— CBS News, "Fox knew of Bill O'Reilly harassment settlement before renewing contract," 21 Oct. 2017
A few years later, however, Matthews realized that the document he had been shown was, in fact, an original draft of the now famous white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "The Creator of Bitcoin Comes Clean, Only to Disappear Again," 11 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'draft.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of draft

Middle English draght; akin to Old English dragan to draw — more at draw

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

draft Synonyms

Synonyms

burden, cargo, load, freight, haul, lading, loading, payload, weight

Related Words

consignment; boatload, carload, shipload, trainload, truckload, wagonload; ballast, deadweight; overload, surcharge; bale, bundle, pack, package, packet, parcel, shipment; manifest; body, bulk, mass

draft

adjective

Definition of draft

1 animal husbandry : used or adapted for drawing loads

draft horses

2 : being or having been ready to be drawn from a receptacle : being or having been on draft

drinking draft beer

See draft defined for English-language learners

Origin and Etymology of draft

see ¹draft

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

Other Alcoholic Beverage Terms

finish, gimlet, mull, sake, setup, sommelier, syllabub, vintner, wassail

draft

verb

Definition of draft

transitive verb

1 : to select for some purpose: such as

a : to conscript for military service

was drafted and sent overseas

b sports : to select (a professional athlete) by draft

got drafted by the Yankees

2 a : to draw the preliminary sketch, version, or plan of

draft legislation

b : compose, prepare

draft a memo

3 : to draw off or away

water drafted by pumps

4 racing sports : to stay close behind (another racer) so as to take advantage of the reduced air pressure created by the leading racer

intransitive verb

1 : to practice draftsmanship

2 racing sports : to draft another racer (as in car or bike racing)

—

draftable

play \ˈdraf-tə-bəl, ˈdräf-\ adjective

—

draftee

play \ˌdraf-ˈtē, ˌdräf-\ noun

—

drafter

play \ˈdraf-tər, ˈdräf-\ noun

See draft defined for English-language learners

Examples of draft in a Sentence

The two countries are drafting a treaty.
The drama club drafted three teenagers to be in the parade.
The legislature debated drafting more soldiers.
The new rule prohibits teams from drafting players under 18.

Recent Examples of draft from the Web

His constituent assembly may draft a new constitution that will secure him in power.

— The Economist, "How long can Venezuela avoid default?," 2 Nov. 2017
The Colts drafted offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo of Boston College in the first round - 22nd overall - in 2011.

— dave clark, Cincinnati.com, "Bill Polian still regrets not drafting Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in 2011," 2 Nov. 2017
After the story appeared, two dozen of Carollo’s colleagues and former lab members drafted a letter defending her and her husband, cosmologist Simon Lilly, both of whom were hired in 2002 to launch the institute.

— gretchen vogel, Science | AAAS, "Hundreds of astronomers rally behind whistleblowers at controversial Swiss institute," 2 Nov. 2017
In the 1980s, Irish-American congressmen led by Brian Donnelly, a Democrat from Boston, drafted a temporary measure, which passed in 1986.

— miriam jordan, New York Times, "Diversity Visa Lottery: Inside the Program That Admitted a Terror Suspect," 1 Nov. 2017
The whole Brexit timetable was drafted on the understanding that enough progress on the separation issues – the financial settlement, the protection of citizens’ rights and the Irish border – would be made by the end of the year.

— ian wishart, Bloomberg.com, "Brexit Bulletin: Is Britain’s Brexit Strategy ‘Screwed’?," 26 Oct. 2017
At the club, Miller drafted an angry letter to Comey justifying his removal.

— gabriel sherman, The Hive, "Jared Kushner Adds Charles Harder to Legal Team As West Wing Pressure Mounts," 17 Oct. 2017
As Kate Kelly and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times reported on August 25, Cohn drafted a letter of resignation, and was prepared to deliver it to Trump.

— william d. cohan, vanityfair.com, "Gary Cohn Can’t Quit Trump. Literally. He’s Tried More Than Once.," 13 Oct. 2017
The Seahawks drafted two offensive lineman, neither of which cracked their starting lineup.

— sean quinton, The Seattle Times, "What the national media are saying about Seahawks’ opening loss in Green Bay," 10 Sep. 2017

Origin and Etymology of draft

see ¹draft

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1714

See Words from the same year

draft Synonyms

Synonyms

conscribe, conscript, levy

Antonyms

fill

Related Words

impress, press; enlist, enroll (also enrol), recruit; call up; sign up, volunteer

Near Antonyms

discharge, muster out

DRAFT Defined for English Language Learners

draft

noun

Definition of draft for English Language Learners

: a version of something (such as a document) that you make before you make the final version
: cool air moving in a closed space (such as a room)
: a system in which young people are required to join the armed forces of a country for a period of service

draft

adjective

Definition of draft for English Language Learners

of an animal : used for pulling heavy loads
of beer : stored in and poured from a large container
: not yet in the final form

draft

verb

Definition of draft for English Language Learners

: to make a version of (something, such as a document or plan) that will need more work in order to be finished
: to choose (someone) for a special purpose
: to officially order (someone) to join the armed forces

DRAFT Defined for Kids

draft

noun \ ˈdraft , ˈdräft \

Definition of draft for Students

1 : a version of something written or drawn (as an essay, document, or plan) that has or will have more than one version

I finished the rough draft of my report.

2 : a current of air

3 : a device to regulate an air supply (as in a fireplace)

4 : the act of pulling or hauling : the thing or amount pulled

a beast of draft

5 : the act or an instance of drinking or inhaling : the portion drunk or inhaled at one time

He took a draft of his drink.

6 : the act of drawing out liquid (as from a cask) : a portion of liquid drawn out

a draft of beer

7 : the depth of water a ship needs in order to float

8 : the practice of ordering people into military service

9 : the practice of choosing someone to play on a professional sports team

10 : an order made by one person or organization to another to pay money to a third person or organization

draft

adjective

Definition of draft for Students

1 : used for pulling loads

a draft animal

2 : not in final form

a draft report

3 : ready to be drawn from a container

draft beer

draft

verb

Definition of draft for Students

drafted; drafting

1 : to write or draw a version of something (as an essay or plan) that usually needs more work

2 : to choose someone to do something

Mom drafted us to clean the garage.

3 : to pick especially for required military service

Medical Dictionary

draft

noun

variants: or chiefly British draught play \ˈdraft, ˈdrȧft\

medical Definition of draft

1 : a portion (as of medicine) poured out or mixed for drinking : dose

2 : a current of air in a closed-in space

—

drafty

or chiefly British draughty play \ˈdraf-tē, ˈdrȧf-\ adjective

Law Dictionary

draft

noun

legal Definition of draft

1 : a preliminary version of something (as a law)

2 a : a system for or act of selecting individuals from a group (as for military service)

b : the act or process of selecting an individual (as for political candidacy) without his or her expressed consent

3 : an order for the payment of money drawn by one person or bank on another — see also drawee, drawer — compare check

— documentary draft

: a draft that will be honored only upon the presentation of certain documents (as an invoice or certificate of title)

— sight draft

: a draft payable on presentation

— time draft

: a draft payable a specified number of days after the date of the draft or of its presentation

draft

transitive verb

legal Definition of draft

1 : to select for some purpose; specifically : to conscript for military service

2 : to compose or prepare especially the preliminary version of

drafting legislation

intransitive verb

: to practice draftsmanship

—

drafter

noun

Learn More about draft

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draft

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draftable

draftee

drafter

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DRAFT Defined for English Language Learners

draft

Definition of draft for English Language Learners

draft

Definition of draft for English Language Learners

draft

Definition of draft for English Language Learners

DRAFT Defined for Kids

draft

Definition of draft for Students

draft

Definition of draft for Students

draft

Definition of draft for Students

Medical Dictionary

draft

medical Definition of draft

drafty

Law Dictionary

draft

legal Definition of draft

draft

legal Definition of draft

drafter

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