draft

I. noun Etymology: Middle English draght; akin to Old English dragan to draw — more at draw Date: 13th century 1. a. the act of drawing a net b. haul 2b 2. a. the act or an instance of drinking or inhaling; also the portion drunk or inhaled in one such act b. a portion poured out or mixed for drinking ; dose 3. a. the force required to pull an implement b. load or load-pulling capacity 4. a. the act of moving loads by drawing or pulling ; pull b. a team of animals together with what they draw 5. a. delineation, representation b. scheme, design c. a preliminary sketch, outline, or version <

the author's first draft

> <

a draft treaty

> 6. the act, result, or plan of drawing out or stretching 7. a. the act of drawing (as from a cask) b. a portion of liquid so drawn <

a draft of ale

> c. draft beer <

a glass of draft

> 8. the depth of water a ship draws especially when loaded 9. a. (1) a system for or act of selecting individuals from a group (as for compulsory military service) (2) an act or process of selecting an individual (as for political candidacy) without the individual's expressed consent b. a group of individuals selected especially by military draft c. a system whereby exclusive rights to selected new players are apportioned among professional teams 10. a. an order for the payment of money drawn by one person or bank on another b. the act or an instance of drawing from or making demands upon something ; demand 11. a. a current of air in a closed-in space <

felt a draft

> b. a device for regulating the flow of air (as in a fireplace) 12. angle, taper; specifically the taper given to a pattern or die so that the work can be easily withdrawn 13. a pocket of reduced air pressure behind a moving object; also the use of such a draft to save energy II. adjective Date: 15th century 1. used or adapted for drawing loads <

draft horses

> 2. being or having been on draft <

drinking draft beer

> III. verb Date: 1714 transitive verb 1. to select for some purpose: as a. to conscript for military service b. to select (a professional athlete) by draft 2. a. to draw the preliminary sketch, version, or plan of <

draft legislation

> b. compose, prepare <

draft a memo

> 3. to draw off or away <

water drafted by pumps

> 4. to stay close behind (another racer) so as to take advantage of the reduced air pressure created by the leading racer intransitive verb 1. to practice draftsmanship 2. to draft another racer (as in car or bike racing) • draftable adjective • draftee noun • drafter noun