draught

[ draft, drahft ]
See synonyms for draught on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. draughts, (used with a singular verb)British. the game of checkers.

verb (used with object)
  1. Chiefly British. draft (defs. 28-32).

verb (used without object)
  1. Chiefly British. draft (def. 33).

adjective
  1. Chiefly British. draft (defs. 35-37).

Origin of draught

1
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English draht (cognate with Dutch dracht, German Tracht, Old Norse drāttr ); akin to Old English dragan “to plug, drag, draw,” drōht “a pull (at the oars)”; see draw

pronunciation note For draught

Draught is a variant spelling of draft and is normally pronounced the same way, as [draft] /dræft/ or [drahft] /drɑft/ or with a vowel somewhere between [a] /æ/ and [ah]. /ɑ/. A pronunciation [drawt] /drɔt/ is sometimes heard for draught, perhaps because -aught is frequently pronounced [-awt] /-ɔt/ elsewhere, as in caught and taught.

Other words from draught

  • draughter, noun
  • un·der·draught, noun

Words that may be confused with draught

  • 1. draft, draught (see pronunciation note at the current entry)
  • 2. draught , drought

Words Nearby draught

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use draught in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for draught

draught

US draft

/ (drɑːft) /


noun
  1. a current of air, esp one intruding into an enclosed space

    • the act of pulling a load, as by a vehicle or animal

    • (as modifier): a draught horse

  1. the load or quantity drawn

  2. a portion of liquid to be drunk, esp a dose of medicine

  3. the act or an instance of drinking; a gulp or swallow

  4. the act or process of drawing air, smoke, etc, into the lungs

  5. the amount of air, smoke, etc, inhaled in one breath

    • beer, wine, etc, stored in bulk, esp in a cask, as opposed to being bottled

    • (as modifier): draught beer

    • on draught drawn from a cask or keg

  6. Also called: draughtsman any one of the 12 flat thick discs used by each player in the game of draughts: US and Canadian equivalent: checker

  7. the depth of a loaded vessel in the water, taken from the level of the waterline to the lowest point of the hull

  8. feel the draught to be short of money

Origin of draught

1
C14: probably from Old Norse drahtr, of Germanic origin; related to draw

Derived forms of draught

  • draughter or US drafter, noun

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