Alternative forms

• draught (British spelling of some senses)

Etymology

A phonetic spelling of draught (compare laughter), from Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#DRAFTCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#DRAFT draught, draght (“that which is pulled; that which is drawn up, a design”), from Old EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Old English#DRAFTCategory:English terms derived from Old English#DRAFT *dreaht, *dræht, from Proto-West GermanicCategory:English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic#DRAFTCategory:English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic#DRAFT *drahti, *drahtu, from Proto-GermanicCategory:English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic#DRAFTCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Germanic#DRAFT *drahtuz (“a pulling, drawing”). Cognate with Dutch dracht, German Tracht, Icelandic dráttur. By surface analysis, draw +‎ -tCategory:English terms suffixed with -t (th)#DRAFT.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, Southern England) IPA^(key): /dɹɑːft/Category:English 1-syllable words#DRAFTCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#DRAFT

  Rhymes: -ɑːftCategory:Rhymes:English/ɑːft#DRAFTCategory:Rhymes:English/ɑːft/1 syllable#DRAFT

• (US) IPA^(key): /dɹæft/Category:English 1-syllable words#DRAFTCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#DRAFT
• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /dɹaft/Category:English 1-syllable words#DRAFTCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#DRAFT
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /dɾaft/Category:English 1-syllable words#DRAFTCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#DRAFT

  Rhymes: -æftCategory:Rhymes:English/æft#DRAFTCategory:Rhymes:English/æft/1 syllable#DRAFT

  Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#DRAFT

Noun

Wikidata has a Lexeme related to:

draft (L9585)

draft (countable and uncountable, plural drafts)Category:English lemmas#DRAFTCategory:English nouns#DRAFTCategory:English uncountable nouns#DRAFTCategory:English countable nouns#DRAFTCategory:English countable nouns#DRAFTCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#DRAFTCategory:Pages with entries#DRAFTCategory:Pages with 6 entries#DRAFT

1. (American spellingCategory:American English forms#DRAFT)
   1. A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle.
   2. The draw through a flue of gasses or smoke resulting from a combustion process.
   3. An act of drinking.
   4. The quantity of liquid (such as water, alcohol, or medicine) drunk in one swallow.

      Synonyms: swig; see also Thesaurus:drink

      to drink at a draftCategory:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

      She took a deep draft from the bottle of water.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

   5. A dose (of medicine, alcohol, etc.).
   7. Liquid, especially beer or other alcohol, drawn from a cask or keg rather than a bottle or can.
      • 1863, Thomas George Shaw, Wine, the Vine, and the Cellar, page 152:

        From 1767 to 1774 no pale wine was bottled but for immediate use; only draft wine of all kinds was used in the principal taverns, and it was often very bad, not from tricks of the vintners, but from bad management.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

      • 2015 September 14, Jeff Smith, Craft Cider: How to Turn Apples into Alcohol, The Countryman Press, →ISBN:

        Another positive trend is the increase of quality in draft cider options. Draft cider has often been, and sometimes still is, considered an inferior product by cider traditionalists, who believe a true cider should come in a bottle or […]

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

   9. (nauticalCategory:en:Nautical#DRAFT) The depth of water needed to float a particular ship; the depth from the waterline to the bottom of a vessel's hull; the depth of water drawn by a vessel.
2. (Universal spelling)
   1. A version of a written work (such as a book or paper) or drawing.

      I have to revise the first draft of my term paper.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

      His first drafts were better than most authors' final products.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

      • 2023 March 8, David Clough, “The long road that led to Beeching”, in RAIL, number 978, page 43:

        Dr Richard Beeching's handwritten draft of his report survives in the National Archives.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

   2. An unsent e-mail.
   3. A preliminary sketch or outline for a plan.
   5. (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#DRAFT) An order for money to be paid; the document that states it: a cheque, note, bond, bill of exchange, money order, or IOU.
3. (Universal spelling)
   1. (USCategory:American English#DRAFT, CanadaCategory:Canadian English#DRAFT, usually with the) Conscription; the system of forcing people to serve in the military.

      He left the country to avoid the draft.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

   2. A person who has been drafted; a conscript or draftee.
      • 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “Only A Subaltern”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 135:

        With these counsels, and many others equally valuable, did Papa Wick fortify Bobby ere that last awful night at Portsmouth when the Officers' Quarters held more inmates than were provided for by the Regulations, and the liberty-men of the ships fell foul of the drafts for India, and the battle raged from the Dockyard Gates even to the slums of Longport, while the drabs of Fratton came down and scratched the faces of the Queen's Officers.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

   3. (politicsCategory:en:Politics#DRAFT, USCategory:American English#DRAFT) A system of forcing or convincing people to take an elected position.
   4. (sportsCategory:en:Sports#DRAFT, USCategory:American English#DRAFT) A system of assigning rookie players to professional sports teams.
   5. (gamingCategory:en:Gaming#DRAFT) A style of play in collectible card games, where players select from a shared pool of cards.
   6. (British English, possibly archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#DRAFT) A quantity that is requisitioned or drawn out from a larger population.
      • 1841, Alexander Walker, Intermarriage, page 325:

        As an instance: amongst a draft of young hounds from Earl F itzwilliam's was one, of whom Will Deane, his huntsman, made this remark in his letter, 'that he could not guess at Lord Foley's dislike to the hound called Glider, then sent, which was of the best blood in the country, being got by Mr. Meynell's Glider out of Lord Fitzwilliam's Blossom, and was moreover the most promising young hound he had ever entered;...

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

      • 1904, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Sessional papers. Inventory control record 1 - Volume 42, page 83:

        These drafts left between the 17th March and 28th April. After this there was no regular system of artillery drafts. A draft of 80 was detailed to take charge of horses on board ship as all cavalry drafts were for the time exhausted, and this draft sailed on the 30th June.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

      • 1982, John Maxwell, Brian Edmund Lloyd, Bertha Mac Smith, Letters of John Maxwell, Superintendent of Government Stock, page 206:

        The Complaint about the Beef lately furnished for the use of the Troops &c at Parramatta, is not without foundation; when I commenced supplying the several Stations with animal food in January last, — a Draft of very fat Oxen was brought from Wellington for that purpose, — that draft has met the consumption of several Stations until now. — the Cattle lately remaining fell very much off in condition, though I certainly consider they were not inferior to a great deal of Beef, I have seen taken from Contractors.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

      • 1993, Lord Anglesey, A History of the British Cavalry 1816-1919: Volume 2: 1851-1871:

        An earlier draft of horses for the 4th Light Dragoons, however,was very different.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

      • 2009, Philip Warner, A Cavalryman in the Crimea:

        The Light Brigade have got a draft of about 250 horses from England, and we expect ours shortly.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

4. (American spellingCategory:American English forms#DRAFT, rail transportCategory:en:Rail transportation#DRAFT) The pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack (stretched) condition.
5. The bevel given to the pattern for a casting, so that it can be drawn from the sand without damaging the mould.
6. (American spellingCategory:American English forms#DRAFT, possibly archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#DRAFT)
   1. The action or an act (especially of a beast of burden or vehicle) of pulling something along or back.

      using oxen for draftCategory:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

      shot forth an arrow with a mighty draftCategory:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

      • 1988, Kenneth W. Russell, Afther Eden, page 39:

        In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century in the U.S., "strong" ploughs requiring the draft of four and sometimes six oxen were frequently used for breaking land which had previously lain fallow for several years.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

   2. The act of drawing in a net for fish.
   3. That which is drawn in; a catch; a haul.

      He cast his net, which brought him a very great draft.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

7. (AppalachiaCategory:Appalachian English#DRAFT)
   1. A small stream or tributary.
      • 1801, Surveys 43, page 428, quoted in 1940, George Davis McJimsey, Topographic Terms in Virginia, page 63:

        Crossing several ridges & hollows & two small drafts of water.

      • 2003, John Alexander Williams, Appalachia: A History, page 113:

        Hollows were tributary to a cove or another type of sizable valley threaded by a creek or, in Pennsylvania, a “run,” and in Virginia, a “draft.”

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

      • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:draft.
   2. (especially VirginiaCategory:Virginia English#DRAFT, West Virginia, PennsylvaniaCategory:Pennsylvania English#DRAFT) A ravine or narrow valley, especially one through which a stream (at least intermittently) flows.
      • 1887, Andrew Smith McCreath, Edward Vincent D'Invilliers, The New River-Cripple Creek Mineral Region of Virginia:

        [page 24:] About one quarter of a mile up the draft, the same blue-gray limestone is opened in a quarry on the Graham and Robinson farm, […]
        [page 31:] Up along a narrow draft heading south-east from the creek at Southern's place, a series of small pits and trenches have been dug close to the ridge […] above the level of the creek.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

        Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
      • 1894, Charles D Lanier, “Sawney's Deer-Lick”, in Scribner's Magazine, page 101:

        Then came the pleasant toil up and down the ridges and drafts of the Knob.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

      • 1894, Charles D. Lanier, “On the Trail of the Wild Turkey”, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, volume 89, number 534, page 883:

        Now you have left the dividing "backbone", and climb up and down a never-ending succession of ridges and "drafts," as the ravines are called. […] a searching reconnoitre of the next long draft opened to view.

        Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

Verb

Wikidata has a Lexeme related to:

draft (L9584)

draft (third-person singular simple present drafts, present participle drafting, simple past and past participle drafted)Category:English lemmas#DRAFTCategory:English verbs#DRAFTCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#DRAFTCategory:Pages with entries#DRAFTCategory:Pages with 6 entries#DRAFT

1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#DRAFT) To write a first version; to make a preliminary sketch.
2. To draw in outline; to make a draught, sketch, or plan of, as in architectural and mechanical drawing.
3. To write a law.
4. To select (someone or something) for a particular role or purpose.

   There was a campaign to draft Smith to run for President.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

   They drafted me to be the chairperson of the new committee.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

   • 1960 May, “Southern Newsreel”, in Trains Illustrated, page 315, photo caption:

     Class "H16" 4-6-2T No. 30516 has been drafted to the Fawley branch and is here seen working a 747-ton test train across Frost Lane crossing, near Hythe, on March 6 [...].

     Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

   1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#DRAFT, USCategory:American English#DRAFT) To conscript (a person); to force (a person) to serve in some capacity, especially in the military.

      He was drafted during the Vietnam War.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

   2. To select and separate an animal or animals from a group.

      The calves were drafted from the cows.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

   3. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#DRAFT, sportsCategory:en:Sports#DRAFT, USCategory:American English#DRAFT) To select a rookie player onto a professional sports team.

      After his last year of college football, he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

5. (ambitransitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#DRAFTCategory:English intransitive verbs#DRAFT) To follow very closely (behind another vehicle), thereby providing an aerodynamic advantage to both lead and follower and conserving energy or increasing speed.

   Synonym: slipstream

   • 2020 September 13, Andrew Benson, “Tuscan Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton claims 90th win after incredible race”, in BBC Sport‎:

     At the restart, the positions of the Mercedes drivers was reversed. Hamilton drafted Bottas down to Turn One and took the lead around the outside, controlling the race from there.

     Category:English terms with quotations#DRAFT

6. To draw out; to call forth.
7. To draw fibers out of a clump, for spinning in the production of yarn.
8. (gamingCategory:en:Gaming#DRAFT) To play a collectible card game by selecting from a shared pool of cards.

Adjective

draft (not comparable)Category:English lemmas#DRAFTCategory:English adjectives#DRAFTCategory:English uncomparable adjectives#DRAFTCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#DRAFTCategory:Pages with entries#DRAFTCategory:Pages with 6 entries#DRAFT (American spellingCategory:American English forms#DRAFT)

1. (not comparable) Referring to drinks on tap, in contrast to bottled.

   I'd rather have a fresh, cheap draft beer.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

2. Referring to animals used for pulling heavy loads.

   A Clydesdale is a draft horse.Category:English terms with usage examples#DRAFT

Related terms

• draw

Further reading

• “draft”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “draft”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• Michael B. Montgomery, Jennifer K. N. Heinmiller, Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English (2021), draft: "A small stream or a tributary of one", "A ravine or gully through which water intermittently flows or once flowed"
• DARE Survey (Marlinton WV, 1968): "a very narrow valley"
• Charles Forster Smith, On Southernisms (1886), draught: "valley of a stream smaller than a creek"
• Josiah Combs, A word-list from the Southern highlands (1944): "a brook or small stream"

Etymology

Borrowed from EnglishCategory:French terms borrowed from English#DRAFTCategory:French terms derived from English#DRAFT draft.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʁaft/Category:French 1-syllable words#DRAFTCategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#DRAFT

• Audio (France):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#DRAFT

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#DRAFT

Noun

draft m or f (plural drafts)Category:French lemmas#DRAFTCategory:French nouns#DRAFTCategory:French countable nouns#DRAFTCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#DRAFTCategory:French masculine nouns#DRAFTCategory:French feminine nouns#DRAFTCategory:French nouns with multiple genders#DRAFTCategory:Pages with entries#DRAFTCategory:Pages with 6 entries#DRAFT

1. (sportsCategory:fr:Sports#DRAFT) draft

Etymology

From EnglishCategory:Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from English#DRAFT draw.

Noun

draft n (definite singular draftet, indefinite plural draft or drafter, definite plural drafta or draftene)Category:Norwegian Bokmål lemmas#DRAFTCategory:Norwegian Bokmål nouns#DRAFTCategory:Norwegian Bokmål entries with incorrect language header#DRAFTCategory:Norwegian Bokmål neuter nouns#DRAFTCategory:Pages with entries#DRAFTCategory:Pages with 6 entries#DRAFT

1. nautical chart

References

• “draft” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Etymology

From EnglishCategory:Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from English#DRAFT draw.

Noun

draft n (definite singular draftet, indefinite plural draft, definite plural drafta)Category:Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas#DRAFTCategory:Norwegian Nynorsk nouns#DRAFTCategory:Norwegian Nynorsk entries with incorrect language header#DRAFTCategory:Norwegian Nynorsk neuter nouns#DRAFTCategory:Pages with entries#DRAFTCategory:Pages with 6 entries#DRAFT
draft f (definite singular drafta, indefinite plural drafter, definite plural draftene)Category:Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas#DRAFTCategory:Norwegian Nynorsk nouns#DRAFTCategory:Norwegian Nynorsk entries with incorrect language header#DRAFTCategory:Norwegian Nynorsk feminine nouns#DRAFTCategory:Pages with entries#DRAFTCategory:Pages with 6 entries#DRAFT

1. nautical chart

References

• “draft” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɾaft/ [ˈd̪ɾaft̪]Category:Spanish 1-syllable words#DRAFTCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#DRAFT
• Rhymes: -aftCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/aft#DRAFTCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/aft/1 syllable#DRAFT
• Syllabification: draft

Noun

draft m (plural drafts)Category:Spanish lemmas#DRAFTCategory:Spanish nouns#DRAFTCategory:Spanish countable nouns#DRAFTCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#DRAFTCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#DRAFTCategory:Pages with entries#DRAFTCategory:Pages with 6 entries#DRAFT

1. draft (in sports)

Noun

draftCategory:Yola lemmas#DRAFTCategory:Yola nouns#DRAFTCategory:Yola entries with incorrect language header#DRAFTCategory:Pages with entries#DRAFTCategory:Pages with 6 entries#DRAFT

1. alternative form of draught

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 36