draft

1 of 3

noun

1
fishing
a
: the act of drawing or pulling in a net
b
: haul sense 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
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 draft entry 2 sense 2) beer
a glass of draft
8
nautical : the depth of water a ship draws (see draw entry 1 sense 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 draw entry 1 sense 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taper (see taper entry 2 sense 2b) given to a pattern or die (see die entry 2 sense 3) so that the work can be easily withdrawn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

draft

2 of 3

adjective

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

draft

3 of 3

verb

drafted; drafting; drafts

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 adjective
draftee
ˌdraf-ˈtē How to pronounce draft (audio)
ˌdräf-
noun
drafter
ˈdraf-tər How to pronounce draft (audio)
ˈdräf-
noun
Phrases
on draft
: ready to be drawn from a receptacle
beer on draft

Examples of draft in a Sentence

Noun The published poem differs quite a bit from earlier drafts. You may want to seal the windows with plastic to stop drafts. Verb 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 on the Web
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.
Noun
At 4-4, but with a Super Bowl window that the team believes is still wide open, the Niners made no major additions at the NFL trade deadline, adding only a depth defensive tackle (for a seventh-round draft pick two years from now). Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024 The Saints went from a top contender to a top draft pick, and will now look to continue to make trades with hours until the trade deadline. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
Knecht was considered one of the steals of the draft after being projected to be selected in the top 10 by most major pre-draft prognosticators. Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 2 July 2024 The Kings did not suit up first-round draft choice Devin Carter, a guard who is dealing with a pre-draft shoulder injury. Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 7 July 2024
Verb
The bill’s author, City Councilmember Crystal Hudson, drafted the measure in response to ProPublica’s reporting. Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 8 Nov. 2024 Boys in Michigan are drafted to fight boys in the Middle East. Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for draft 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English drauȝt, draught, drawt "act of pulling or drawing, drawing of water from a well, movement, move in chess or a similar game, quantity of liquid drunk at one time, something drawn or written," probably going back to Old English *dreaht, *dræht, going back to Germanic *drohtu- (whence also Middle Dutch dracht "pregnancy, child, load, dress," Middle High German traht "act of bearing, pregnancy," Old Icelandic dráttr "pulling, hesitation"), action noun with the suffix *-tu- from Germanic *dragan- "to drag, pull" (in Old English and North Germanic), "to carry" (in the rest of West Germanic) — more at draw entry 1

Note: The traditional spelling of this word outside North America is draught, except in senses 5 and 9. Aside from draught/draft and laughter (influenced by laugh), [ft] as an outcome of [χt] has not been accepted in the vocabulary of standard English; compare the discussion in E.J. Dobson, English Pronunciation, 1500-1700, 2nd edition, vol. 2 (Oxford, 1968), pp. 946-47.

Adjective

from attributive use of draft entry 1

Verb

derivative of draft entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1714, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of draft was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near draft

Cite this Entry

“Draft.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/draft. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

draft

1 of 3 noun
ˈdraft How to pronounce draft (audio)
ˈdrȧft
1
a
: the act of pulling or hauling
b
: the thing or amount pulled
2
: the act or an instance of drinking or inhaling
also : the portion drunk or inhaled at one time
3
a
: something represented in words or lines : design, plan
b
: a quick sketch, outline, or version from which a final work is produced
a rough draft of the essay
4
a
: the act of drawing out liquid (as from a barrel)
b
: a portion of liquid drawn out
5
: the depth of water required for a ship to float when loaded
6
: a picking of persons for required military service
7
: an order (as a check) issued by one party to another (as a bank) to pay money to a third party
8
a
: a current of air
b
: a device to regulate an air supply (as in a stove)

draft

2 of 3 adjective
1
: used for pulling loads
draft animals
2
: being a version to be finished later
a draft treaty
3
: being or having been on draft
draft beer

draft

3 of 3 verb
1
: to pick especially for required military service
2
a
: to make a draft of : outline
draft a plan
b
: to put into written form
draft an essay
drafter noun

Medical Definition

draft

noun
variants or chiefly British draught
1
: a portion (as of medicine) poured out or mixed for drinking : dose
2
: a current of air in a closed-in space
drafty adjective
or chiefly British draughty

Legal Definition

draft

1 of 2 noun
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

2 of 2 transitive verb
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

More from Merriam-Webster on draft

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