View synonyms for draught

draught

[ draft, drahft ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

draughts, (used with a singular verb) British. the game of checkers.
Chiefly British. draft ( defs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 38 ).

verb (used with object)

Chiefly British. draft ( defs 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 ).

verb (used without object)

Chiefly British. draft ( def 33 ).

adjective

Chiefly British. draft ( defs 35, 36, 37 ).

draught

/ drɑːft /

noun

a current of air, esp one intruding into an enclosed space
1. the act of pulling a load, as by a vehicle or animal
2. ( as modifier )
  a draught horse
the load or quantity drawn
a portion of liquid to be drunk, esp a dose of medicine
the act or an instance of drinking; a gulp or swallow
the act or process of drawing air, smoke, etc, into the lungs
the amount of air, smoke, etc, inhaled in one breath
1. beer, wine, etc, stored in bulk, esp in a cask, as opposed to being bottled
2. ( as modifier )
  draught beer
3. on draught drawn from a cask or keg
Also calleddraughtsman any one of the 12 flat thick discs used by each player in the game of draughts US and Canadian equivalentchecker
the depth of a loaded vessel in the water, taken from the level of the waterline to the lowest point of the hull
feel the draught
feel the draught to be short of money

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Pronunciation Note

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

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Derived Forms

ˈdraughter, noun

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Other Words From

draughter noun
under·draught noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of draught¹

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)”; draw

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Word History and Origins

Origin of draught¹

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

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Example Sentences

This week they had switched off the fan at the front door blowing air back in and had the back door open, creating a through draught.

From Science News

A mega-draught could devastate India, wiping out the farms that country needs to feed its rapidly growing population.

From The Daily Beast

Being quieted by the Captain with a draught of cold tea, and made to sit down, the examination of the book proceeded.

From Project Gutenberg

The chimney was at the other end, and thus a draught of hot air constantly passed beneath the floors in cold weather.

From Project Gutenberg

It is called the "travellers' drink" because any one, on breaking off a stalk, can obtain a cool draught.

From Project Gutenberg

This, however, will not be necessary where there is a chimney high enough to create a strong draught.

From Project Gutenberg

Gradually, however, the spark grew to a burning mass, which created the draught of air that fanned it.

From Project Gutenberg

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