| draft | |
| 1. s. (possibly, archaic) The action or an act (especially of a beast of burden or vehicle) of pulling something along or back. | |
| using oxen for draft shot forth an arrow with a mighty draft | |
| 2. s. (possibly, archaic) The act of drawing in a net for fish. | |
| 3. s. (possibly, archaic) That which is drawn in; a catch, a haul. | |
| 4. s. An early version of a written work (such as a book or e-mail) or drawing; a preliminary sketch or outline. | |
| I have to revise the first draft of my term paper. | |
| His first drafts were better than most authors' final products. | |
| 5. s. (nautical) Depth of water needed to float a ship; depth below the water line to the bottom of a vessel's hull; depth of water drawn by a vessel. | |
| 6. s. A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle. | |
| 7. s. Draw through a flue of gasses (smoke) resulting from a combustion process. | |
| 8. s. An amount of liquid (such as water, alcohol, or medicine) that is drunk in one swallow. | |
| She took a deep draft from the bottle of water. | |
| 9. s. Beer drawn from a cask or keg rather than a bottle or can. | |
| 10. s. A cheque, an order for money to be paid. | |
| 11. s. Conscription, the system of forcing people to serve in the military. | |
| He left the country to avoid the draft. | |
| 12. s. (politics) A system of forcing or convincing people to take an elected position. | |
| 13. s. (sports) A system of assigning rookie players to professional sports teams. | |
| 14. s. (rail transport) The pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack stretched condition. | |
| 15. s. The bevel given to the pattern for a casting, so that it can be drawn from the sand without damaging the mould. | |
| 16. v. To write a first version, make a preliminary sketch. | |
| 17. v. To draw in outline; to make a draught, sketch, or plan of, as in architectural and mechanical drawing. | |
| 18. v. To write a law. | |
| 19. v. To conscript a person, force a person to serve in some capacity, especially in the military. | |
| He was drafted during the Vietnam War. There was a campaign to draft Smith to run for President. | |
| They drafted me to be the chairperson of the new committee. | |
| 20. v. To select and separate an animal or animals from a group. | |
| The calves were drafted from the cows. | |
| 21. v. (transitive, sports) To select a rookie player onto a professional sports team. | |
| After his last year of college football, he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. | |
| 22. v. (intransitive) To follow very closely behind another vehicle, thereby providing an aerodynamic advantage to both lead and follower, thereby conserving energy or increasing speed. | |
| 23. v. To draw out; to call forth. | |
| 24. v. To draw fibers out of a clump, for spinning in the production of yarn. | |
| 25. adj. (not comparable) Referring to drinks on tap, in contrast to bottled. | |
| I'd rather have a fresh, cheap draft beer. | |
