draft

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draft

/dɹɑːft/ UK, Southern England
/dɹæft/ US
/dɹaft/ Northern England
/dɾaft/ Scotland

Rhymes with -ɑːft, -æft

Where it comes from

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

noun drafts · draught

US, countable, uncountable A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle.
US, countable, uncountable The draw through a flue of gasses or smoke resulting from a combustion process.
US, countable, uncountable An act of drinking.
US, countable, uncountable The quantity of liquid (such as water, alcohol, or medicine) drunk in one swallow. to drink at a draft
US, countable, uncountable A dose (of medicine, alcohol, etc.).
US, countable, uncountable Liquid, especially beer or other alcohol, drawn from a cask or keg rather than a bottle or can. 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.
US, countable, uncountable 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.
countable, uncountable 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.
countable, uncountable An unsent e-mail.
countable, uncountable A preliminary sketch or outline for a plan.
archaic, countable, uncountable An order for money to be paid; the document that states it: a cheque, note, bond, bill of exchange, money order, or IOU.
Canada, US, countable, uncountable, usually Conscription; the system of forcing people to serve in the military. He left the country to avoid the draft.
countable, uncountable A person who has been drafted; a conscript or draftee. 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
US, countable, uncountable A system of forcing or convincing people to take an elected position.
US, countable, uncountable A system of assigning rookie players to professional sports teams.
countable, uncountable A style of play in collectible card games, where players select from a shared pool of cards.
British, English, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountable A quantity that is requisitioned or drawn out from a larger population. 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. Mey
US, countable, uncountable The bevel given to the pattern for a casting, so that it can be drawn from the sand without damaging the mould.
US, countable, uncountable The pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack (stretched) condition.
US, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountable The action or an act (especially of a beast of burden or vehicle) of pulling something along or back. using oxen for draft
US, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountable The act of drawing in a net for fish.
US, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountable That which is drawn in; a catch; a haul. He cast his net, which brought him a very great draft.
Appalachia, countable, uncountable A small stream or tributary. Crossing several ridges & hollows & two small drafts of water.
Appalachia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West, countable, especially A ravine or narrow valley, especially one through which a stream (at least intermittently) flows. [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

verb drafts · drafting · drafted · draught

transitive To write a first version; to make a preliminary sketch.
To draw in outline; to make a draught, sketch, or plan of, as in architectural and mechanical drawing.
To write a law.
To select (someone or something) for a particular role or purpose. There was a campaign to draft Smith to run for President.
US, transitive To conscript (a person); to force (a person) to serve in some capacity, especially in the military. He was drafted during the Vietnam War.
To select and separate an animal or animals from a group. The calves were drafted from the cows.
US, transitive To select a rookie player onto a professional sports team. After his last year of college football, he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins.
ambitransitive To follow very closely (behind another vehicle), thereby providing an aerodynamic advantage to both lead and follower and conserving energy or increasing speed. 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.
To draw out; to call forth.
To draw fibers out of a clump, for spinning in the production of yarn.
To play a collectible card game by strategically selecting from a shared pool of cards.

adjective draught

US, not comparable Referring to drinks on tap, in contrast to bottled. I'd rather have a fresh, cheap draft beer.
US, not comparable Referring to animals used for pulling heavy loads. A Clydesdale is a draft horse.

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