Word of the Day: Draw

verb, past tense drew, past participle drawn   draw / ˈdrȯ  

1. to cause to move in a direction through applied force

Our own self-love draws a thick veil between us and our faults. Lord Chesterfield, 1694-1773  

2. to take or pull out, as from a source

When the sword of rebellion is drawn, the sheath should be thrown away. English Proverb  

3. to cause to come out of a container or receptacle

I would slosh home through the rain after class, draw a hot bath, and lie there in the bubbles reading the Italian dictionary aloud to myself[.] From ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ Elizabeth Gilbert, 1969-  

4. to attract or bring via inducement

The vocals are what immediately draw people in and sell the song. Jerry Harrison, 1949-  

5. to gather

We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. Cesar Chavez, 1927-1993  

6. to provoke or elicit

In another year, stories about the strange new face of an A-list actress might draw chortles and cackles. Kevin O’Keeffe, ?-  

7. to inhale

A howling dominated the world and did not stop, not to draw breath nor to let them sleep. From ‘The Damascus Way’ by Davis Bunn, 1952-  

8. to write out in an official or legal form, usually followed by up

Thousands of engineers can design bridges, calculate strains and stresses, and draw up specifications for machines, but the great engineer is the man who can tell whether the bridge or the machine should be built, and when. Eugene Grace, 1876-1960  

9. to derive

There is a great powerful myth to the character and romantic element that drew from a lot of the literary sources. Christopher Nolan, 1970-  

1. to infer or deduce

Genius – to know without having learned; to draw just conclusions from unknown premises; to discern the soul of things. Ambrose Bierce, 1842-c. 1914  

1. to gain

The drafts which true genius draws upon posterity, although they may not always be honored so soon as they are due, are sure to be paid with compound interest in the end. Charles Caleb Colton, 1780-1832  

2. in games, to take cards from a stack

If you were to shuffle a deck and draw out ten cards, the chances of the sequence you drew coming up are in the trillions, no matter what the cards are. David McRaney, ?-  

3. in archery, to bend a bow by pulling on the string

Draw the bow but don’t shoot – it is a bigger threat to be intimidated than to be hit. Chinese Proverb  

4. to tie or come out even in a contest, race, duel, etc.

Some games you win, some you lose, and some you draw. Michel Platini, 1955-  

5. to produce a representation or likeness of something by creating lines on a surface

When I see a white piece of paper, I feel I’ve got to draw. And drawing, for me, is the beginning of everything. Ellsworth Kelly, 1923-2015  

6. to come on gradually

We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed long enough, will therefore draw gradually nearer, and finally meet at the center: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork, you must make a decision.

1. S. Lewis, 1898-1963

 

7. in medicine, to cause blood or some other fluid to localize at one point

The tongue like a sharp knife…kills without drawing blood. Gautama Buddha, c. 563/480-c.483/400 BCE  

8. to cause to constrict or tighten, usually followed by up

    noun  

1. a removal of a handgun from a holster

It’s easy to be quick on the draw when no one has got real bullets. Timothy Olyphant, 1968-  

2. something picked or selected at random

I think living the blessed life is the luck of the draw. Judith Guest, 1936-  

3. a contest, game, etc. ending in a tie

A draw can be obtained not only by repeating moves, but also by one weak move. Savielly Tartakower, 1887-1956  

4. something that attracts a large crowd or following

I have no illusions of being the big box office draw. Tim Daly, 1956-