| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
draw (drɔː) ![]() | |
| —vb (often foll by off) (sometimes foll by in) , draws, drawing, drew, drawn | |
| 1. | to cause (a person or thing) to move towards or away by pulling |
| 2. | to bring, take, or pull (something) out, as from a drawer, holster, etc |
| 3. | (tr) to extract or pull or take out: to draw teeth; to draw a card from a pack |
| 4. | to take (liquid) out of a cask, keg, tank, etc, by means of a tap |
| 5. | (intr) to move, go, or proceed, esp in a specified direction: to draw alongside |
| 6. | (tr) to attract or elicit: to draw a crowd; draw attention |
| 7. | (tr) to cause to flow: to draw blood |
| 8. | to depict or sketch (a form, figure, picture, etc) in lines, as with a pencil or pen, esp without the use of colour; delineate |
| 9. | (tr) to make, formulate, or derive: to draw conclusions, comparisons, parallels |
| 10. | (tr) to write (a legal document) in proper form |
| 11. | to suck or take in (air, liquid, etc): to draw a breath |
| 12. | (intr) to induce or allow a draught to carry off air, smoke, etc: the flue draws well |
| 13. | (tr) to take or receive from a source: to draw money from the bank |
| 14. | (tr) to earn: draw interest |
| 15. | (tr) finance to write out (a bill of exchange or promissory note): to draw a cheque |
| 16. | (tr) to choose at random: to draw lots |
| 17. | (tr) to reduce the diameter of (a wire or metal rod) by pulling it through a die |
| 18. | (tr) to shape (a sheet of metal or glass) by rolling, by pulling it through a die or by stretching |
| 19. | archery to bend (a bow) by pulling the string |
| 20. | to steep (tea) or (of tea) to steep in boiling water |
| 21. | (tr) to disembowel: draw a chicken |
| 22. | (tr) to cause (pus, blood, etc) to discharge from an abscess or wound |
| 23. | (intr) (of two teams, contestants, etc) to finish a game with an equal number of points, goals, etc; tie |
| 24. | (tr) bridge, whist to keep leading a suit in order to force out (all outstanding cards) |
| 25. | bridge, whist draw trumps to play the trump suit until the opponents have none left |
| 26. | (tr) billiards to cause (the cue ball) to spin back after a direct impact with another ball by applying backspin when making the stroke |
| 27. | (tr) to search (a place) in order to find wild animals, game, etc, for hunting |
| 28. | golf to cause (a golf ball) to move with a controlled right-to-left trajectory or (of a golf ball) to veer gradually from right to left |
| 29. | (tr) curling to deliver (the stone) gently |
| 30. | (tr) nautical (of a vessel) to require (a certain depth) in which to float |
| 31. | draw a blank to get no results from something |
| 32. | draw and quarter to disembowel and dismember (a person) after hanging |
| 33. | cricket draw stumps to close play, as by pulling out the stumps |
| 34. | draw the line See line |
| 35. | draw the short straw See short straw |
| 36. | bowls draw the shot to deliver the bowl in such a way that it approaches the jack |
| —n | |
| 37. | the act of drawing |
| 38. | (US) a sum of money advanced to finance anticipated expenses |
| 39. | an event, occasion, act, etc, that attracts a large audience |
| 40. | a raffle or lottery |
| 41. | something taken or chosen at random, as a ticket in a raffle or lottery |
| 42. | a contest or game ending in a tie |
| 43. | (US), (Canadian) a small natural drainage way or gully |
| 44. | a defect found in metal castings due to the contraction of the metal on solidification |
| [Old English dragan; related to Old Norse draga; Old Frisian draga, Old Saxon dragan, Old High German tragan to carry] | |
| 'drawable | |
| —adj | |
| draw out | |
| —vb (foll by of) | |
| 1. | to extend or cause to be extended: he drew out his stay |
| 2. | (tr) to cause (a person) to talk freely: she's been quiet all evening – see if you can draw her out |
| 3. | Also: draw from to elicit (information) (from): he managed to draw out of his son where he had been |
| 4. | (tr) to withdraw (money) as from a bank account or a business |
| 5. | (intr) (of hours of daylight) to become longer |
| 6. | (intr) (of a train) to leave a station |
| 7. | (tr) to extend (troops) in line; lead from camp |
| 8. | (intr) (of troops) to proceed from camp |
draw out
Pull out, extract, remove, as in She drew out her pen, or Let's draw some money out of the bank. [c. 1300]
Prolong, protract, as in This meal was drawn out over four hours. The related expression long-drawn-out means "greatly extended or protracted," as in The dinner was a long-drawn-out affair. [1500s]
Induce to speak freely, as in The teacher was good at drawing out the children. [Late 1700s]