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REFERENCE

draw

v.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈdɹɔ// UK //dɹˈɔː// draw Archaic Dialect Formal General-service Slang

v. to create a picture using a pen or pencil. You can also use it to mean pulling something toward you or moving in a specific direction.

v. to produce an image on a surface by making lines and marks with a pen, pencil, or similar tool. Often used intransitively or with a direct object; also carries the sense of pulling or attracting something toward a specific point.


SIMPLE

I like to draw pictures of my cat.

CONTEXTUAL

The artist sat in the park to draw the historic fountain while the sun was still high.

COMPLEX

The speaker managed to draw a large crowd to the square, effectively capturing their attention with a series of compelling anecdotes about local history.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

The verb is derived from Middle English drauen, drawen, draȝen, dragen (“to drag, pull; to draw (out); to attract; to entice, lure; to lead; to make a drawing; to move, travel; etc.”), from Old English dragan (“to drag, draw”), from Proto-West Germanic dragan (“to carry; to haul”), from Proto-Germanic draganą (“to carry; to pull, draw”); further etymology uncertain, often said to be from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to pull, draw”), but possibly from a non-Indo-European substrate root which is also the source of Latin trahō (“to pull, draw; etc.”). Doublet of drag and draught. The noun is derived from Middle English drau, draue (“action of shooting with a bow”), from drauen, drawen (verb). cognates * Albanian dredh (“to turn, spin”) * Danish drage * Dutch dragen * German tragen (“to carry”) * Old Armenian դառնամ (daṙnam, “to turn”) * Sanskrit ध्रजस् (dhrájas, “gliding course or motion”) * West Frisian drage

Usage

The verb is both transitive and intransitive. When it means to pull or attract, it often takes the preposition 'to' or 'towards'.

Pitfall

I have drawed a pictureI have drawn a pictureDraw is an irregular verb; the past participle is 'drawn', not 'drawed'.

Idioms15 entries

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