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draft
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
draft
I.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a draft agreement (=one that is not yet in its finished form )
▪ The government of Iraq refused to accept the wording of the draft UN agreement.
a draft constitution (=one that is not yet in its final form)
▪ By 1908 China had a draft constitution.
a draft treaty (=one that has been written but not yet signed)
▪ The committee produced a draft treaty on arms limitation.
bank draft
banker's draft
draft an agreement (=write the conditions of an agreement, which may be changed)
▪ The legal team will draft a second agreement incorporating these changes.
draft board
draft card
draft dodger
draft dodging (=when someone avoids an order to join the army, navy etc)
draft legislation (=write it before it is finally approved)
▪ She is a member of the committee that is drafting the legislation.
draw up/draft a constitution (=write one)
▪ The American constitution was drafted in 1787.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
early
▪ That leak, he confirmed, was of an early draft of the memo, which he had torn up and binned.
▪ Savas was principal author of the early drafts of the National Urban Policy Report.
▪ And this experience modifies earlier drafts of their personal blueprint of the social world.
▪ These early drafts are instructive to him.
▪ An earlier draft had been rejected by the King who had requested a number of minor alterations.
▪ Barnes said she is asking the court to force the Navy to produce any earlier drafts.
▪ An earlier draft had been to George and Rowland Wilson but the latter's name does not appear on the final copy.
final
▪ Chancellor Norman Lamont and fellow finance ministers began hammering out the final draft in Edinburgh yesterday afternoon.
▪ This layout should be made as formal as if it were the final draft.
▪ Always use good quality paper, especially for the final draft.
▪ I have pleasure in enclosing our considered response and hope it will be carefully considered before the final draft is prepared.
▪ It is good practice to write your proposal word for word as if it were the final draft.
▪ Only 12 types of links were used in the semantic net that supported the final draft of the Hypertext book.
▪ The final draft of the environmental impact report on rezoning is to be completed in the spring.
initial
▪ In practice, initial drafts of rules will be the subject of ongoing discussions between all four parties.
▪ Larwin explained that the initial draft of the minutes had been summarized by a clerk who does not usually prepare minutes.
▪ The initial draft had stipulated that mining could begin only if all signatories agreed.
▪ But Cummock said that dissent was not given to President Clinton when he received an initial draft of the report.
▪ While they can devise initial drafts, as manager you should take a close interest in the contents.
▪ One way to do this is to encourage children to reread and revise their initial drafts.
▪ The initial draft received many letters of comment from both camps and was followed up with a public debate in Glasgow.
▪ Many purchasers will acknowledge that the vendor will wish to limit its liability and incorporate these basic provisions in the initial draft.
new
▪ A new draft constitution was approved on Aug. 23.
▪ Tell him I need a completely new draft.
▪ Before the publication of the new draft, the Bush administration had appeared to show greater flexibility in its negotiating stance.
▪ The speechwriters go back to work after his editing and bring him a new draft.
▪ At the time of writing, a new draft circular is under consideration.
▪ So I embarked upon a new draft of the Regulations.
▪ The new draft modifies the 1986 legislation in several ways, however.
▪ Rewritten after heavy criticism, the new draft is reckoned by most in the City an improvement on the original.
original
▪ Hope's original draft was longer, cohesive and more powerfully worded.
▪ Frequently strange things will happen to your original draft.
▪ In Hope's original draft, Pennethorne was dismissed on the grounds that his scheme had three faults.
▪ An original draft of the Hay-Pauncefoote treaty provided for notification to and accession by third States.
▪ The original draft directive proposed that advertising should be limited to the sort of details a business card carries.
preliminary
▪ If it wanted to reject the preliminary drafts, so be it.
▪ The preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation was only part of the trouble.
rough
▪ Could it really be the first rough draft of a Euro-constitution?
▪ Tanedo works individually with students, helping them brainstorm and write rough drafts.
▪ She cobbled together a rough draft and then rewrote it, trying to remove the more ostentatious signs of plagiarism.
▪ For a while the conditions are so propitious that by spring break I have a rough draft of my book.
▪ One approach to the hypertext-to-text coherence problem is a labor-intensive one and treats the hypertext form as a rough draft.
▪ He kept a journal now, one filled with assignments from Speech and Psychology and Math and various rough drafts for me.
■ NOUN
agreement
▪ As such, he could not recommend the draft agreement that had emerged from the conversations.
▪ It is also clearly much easier to produce one's own draft agreement than to work from and mark-up some one else's.
bill
▪ Take the normal Law Commission Report which analyses the problem and then annexes a draft Bill to remedy it.
▪ Indeed the member will not have a draft bill.
▪ This enabled reports to be published with draft bills annexed.
▪ Clarke's voluminous papers include many draft bills and policy documents.
▪ He added that several other governments have requested copies of the draft bill from the Sri Lankan government.
budget
▪ Parliament was given the right to reject the draft budget, and to have the last say on non-compulsory expenditure.
▪ We will publish a draft Budget four months before the final version, to promote open discussion of economic and taxation policy.
constitution
▪ A new draft constitution was approved on Aug. 23.
▪ The session approved a draft Constitution which would be circulated for nationwide discussion.
▪ However, on May 29, 1991, the draft constitution was given its first reading by the Grand National Assembly.
▪ The Assembly set to work with a draft constitution prepared by Hugo Preuss.
▪ The influential Roman Catholic Church also opposed the draft constitution on the grounds that it permitted abortion.
▪ Meanwhile disagreement among the 72 deputies to the Assembly over the draft Constitution delayed its formal adoption until Feb. 9.
▪ The King approves the committee's draft constitution.
contract
▪ Send the epitome or abstract of an unregistered title, or Office Copy Entries and filed plan with the draft contract.
document
▪ The Labour party's draft document, which it did not dare to publish, refers to London policing functions.
▪ Baldwin was horrified by these draft documents.
dodger
▪ On March 6 pay bonuses were announced for all soldiers and an amnesty was declared for deserters and draft dodgers.
▪ They thought he was a draft dodger, and it wouldn't be long before some one came to the correct conclusion.
form
▪ Although these are still in draft form, the Lead Body will use them to prepare a new framework for Vocational Qualifications.
▪ The RoadMap is already out to members for review in draft form.
▪ These were first written down in draft form, then refined on input to the database.
▪ According to Moody, this play was in draft form by April 1923.
▪ As the proposal document took shape it was taken back to faculties in draft form for verification.
law
▪ If the draft law is passed by July, as the government hopes, the first privatisations could be in September.
▪ The draft law proposes that such work of art will be considered legally yours after twenty years.
▪ A central committee draft law discussing the powers of the presidency of the party was also introduced at the plenum.
▪ The draft law as a whole was passed by 1,682 votes to 43 with 63 abstentions.
▪ In September 1989 a draft law was presented which aimed to facilitate a large-scale privatization programme over the next five years.
legislation
▪ It is enshrined in draft legislation sponsored by Mario Segni, who championed the cause of electoral reform.
▪ The Government has now authorised the preparation of draft legislation.
▪ More positive was confirmation that draft legislation for a Bill of Rights should be ready by July 1990.
▪ There will be further consultations when the draft legislation is published.
▪ The vote came five years after the synod called for draft legislation to introduce women priests.
proposal
▪ The draft proposals tend to emphasize advisory structures and roles.
▪ It is relevant to the agricultural sector and there are several references to environmental considerations in the draft proposal.
▪ The assembly divided itself into five committees and 26 sub-committees to dissect the 131 draft proposals it has received.
▪ The draft proposals were to be discussed with the trade unions and opposition parties before being submitted to the People's Assembly.
regulation
▪ Many of the draft regulations will be complete by Christmas.
▪ The draft regulations also provide details of the proposed minimum content of summary financial statements for banks.
▪ The draft Regulation re-emphasises that Member States fix their HLCAs on bands according to the severity of permanent natural handicaps on agriculture.
report
▪ Its work was suspended during the election campaign and advisers fear that its draft report could now be shelved.
▪ There's a long draft report I would like you to do, by lunchtime if possible.
▪ Priddle's division inside the department last year wrote a draft report on conservation for energy secretary, Nigel Lawson.
▪ A transmittal letter should be used whenever draft reports are submitted or preliminary opinions given.
▪ There was also a full staff meeting where the draft report was discussed with the director.
▪ Boreholes were drilled and geophysical investigations were made at Shaftesbury, and a draft report has been prepared.
▪ But the airline had seen the draft report and accepted its findings.
▪ The draft report of the Cadbury Committee has been described as the opening of a debate.
treaty
▪ Will the Government veto a draft treaty Hon. Members Would you?
▪ Such measures were included in the December 1991 Maastricht draft treaty.
▪ It is our aim to do the same on the draft treaty on political union.
▪ He made it clear that at that point a judgement would be taken as to whether the draft treaty was acceptable or not.
▪ Luxembourg, the conference chair, has ignored these ideas in its draft treaty.
▪ The draft treaty of the Political Community, with 117 articles, was presented in Strasbourg on 10 March 1953.
version
▪ In its draft version the report declares that market forces alone will not ensure more efficient use of energy.
▪ The draft version for comment incorporates practices and interpretations that have become established over the years and includes some new provisions.
■ VERB
approve
▪ The session approved a draft Constitution which would be circulated for nationwide discussion.
▪ It also approved a government draft for a commercial code to take effect from Jan. 1, 1992.
▪ The King approves the committee's draft constitution.
▪ Some mortgagees insist on approving the draft conveyance or transfer and regard must therefore be had to the practice of each mortgagee.
▪ It is right for 1992 that the House should approve the draft order.
▪ On June 7 the Cabinet approved the 1989/90 draft socio-economic development plan as part of the second five-year national development plan.
avoid
▪ Frank had married for love, but he timed the wedding to avoid the draft.
▪ Also, questions arose about the methods Clinton used to avoid the draft in 1968.
prepare
▪ I hope this information helps you in preparing the draft response.
▪ Jackson came over at once, armed with a fully prepared draft of a bill, which he read to the assembly.
▪ For the purchaser's lawyer, it is a useful basis from which to start preparing the draft sale agreement.
▪ There are other comparatively rare occasions when the seller's solicitors prepare the draft.
▪ A working group, with representatives of all the republics concerned, was established to prepare a first draft.
▪ Only one in eight local authorities had consulted disabled people before preparing a draft plan.
present
▪ When presented with the draft confidentiality agreement, the purchaser should ensure that there are adequate exemptions to the confidentiality obligation.
▪ The federal officials presented a draft of their plan for the extension.
produce
▪ It is also clearly much easier to produce one's own draft agreement than to work from and mark-up some one else's.
▪ Barnes said she is asking the court to force the Navy to produce any earlier drafts.
propose
▪ The draft law proposes that such work of art will be considered legally yours after twenty years.
provide
▪ A draft scheme to provide a comprehensive ambulance service for the whole of Bedfordshire was approved.
▪ This is soon to be published in draft and will provide a strategic planning framework for the region to the year 2005.
▪ The draft regulations also provide details of the proposed minimum content of summary financial statements for banks.
publish
▪ We have also published for consultation the draft asylum appeals procedure rules.
▪ Next month the commission plans to publish two draft directives on this topic.
▪ This is soon to be published in draft and will provide a strategic planning framework for the region to the year 2005.
▪ It was sensibly decided not to publish the draft White Paper they prepared.
▪ We will publish a draft Budget four months before the final version, to promote open discussion of economic and taxation policy.
▪ This enabled reports to be published with draft bills annexed.
▪ The Board expects to publish a specification in draft shortly.
read
▪ He read the completed draft through slowly a second time.
▪ As he read the first draft of his sermon, Barnabas listened with sincere interest.
submit
▪ The teachers' union even submitted the draft constitution to the bishops soas to get it right.
write
▪ The steering group are currently writing the first draft of these standards of performance.
▪ Tanedo works individually with students, helping them brainstorm and write rough drafts.
▪ It is easiest to write the first draft all in one go - then you sustain the mood of the short story.
▪ Before their Joblike job was finished eight years after they signed on, they had written an incredible 27 drafts.
▪ Priddle's division inside the department last year wrote a draft report on conservation for energy secretary, Nigel Lawson.
▪ If your company has a style guide, follow it closely. 3. Write and review the draft.
▪ I have written a draft which I have submitted to the relevant government authorities.
▪ Once you have written the draft, send copies to other committee members two or three days before the next meeting.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
cash a cheque/postal order/draft etc
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ By the end of the year, Jim had produced a first draft of his new novel.
▪ Could you close the window? There's a draft in here.
▪ I read a draft of the first chapter and thought it was very good.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Journalism, it is often said in newsrooms, is the first draft of history.
▪ Next, the draft would make it cheaper for disgruntled shareholders to sue directors for mismanagement.
▪ The cold draft forced visitors to wear heavy coats outside the Los Angeles Clippers' locker room.
▪ The Committee draws attention to any draft which it considers to raise a matter of political or legal importance.
II.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
in
▪ Extra police were drafted in to attempt to move the crowds away.
▪ As expected, Paul Parker of Manchester United has been drafted in.
▪ There comes a point when new players have to be drafted in.
▪ Flopping Central banks from round the world were drafted in yesterday to stop the pound's slide.
▪ Derek Quinnell and Tommy David were drafted in.
▪ The expansion of the police administrative staff guaranteed a faster route to the top for those who were drafted in as clerks.
▪ Police marksmen were then drafted in for a 12 hour siege after he barricaded himself in.
▪ Sixty officers have been drafted in and they're confident of finding the killers.
■ NOUN
agreement
▪ Just sitting down together as a family to draft an agreement can encourage analysis and co-operation.
army
▪ The hotel was almost empty and all the young men had been drafted into the army.
bill
▪ There was widespread concern about the effect of the movies and over 30 states began to draft censorship bills.
▪ As drafted, neither bill would deny public elementary or secondary education to illegal immigrants, as Proposition 187 sought to do.
▪ It was responsible for drafting a Bill and a campaign which resulted in the introduction of radical and influential legislation in 1974.
committee
▪ The Industry Ministry was scheduled for abolition, to be replaced by a State Committee directed towards drafting industrial strategy and privatization.
▪ Janet led us through the victories at the polls, then appointed a committee that drafted the Florida Educational Equity Act.
constitution
▪ The new administration was given responsibility for preparing for the forthcoming general election and drafting a new constitution.
▪ The actual drafting of every constitution is either directly or indirectly controlled by those with political power in the society.
▪ The new parliament's principal task would be to draft a constitution for approval by the electorate in a referendum.
▪ A 16-member commission to draft a new constitution was also set up.
▪ Elections should then follow for a constituent assembly which would draft a constitution.
▪ It decreed that a council of representatives would elect a president and would be responsible for drafting a constitution.
▪ New constitutional committee A 14-member committee was appointed on Jan. 21 to draft a new constitution for multiparty democracy.
document
▪ The committee has until May to draft a document.
▪ One lawyer needs to work on the collective ideas and draft the documents.
▪ Kings sometimes instructed or allowed churchmen to draft and write these documents, and Cnut apparently often did so.
law
▪ Instead, he believes he can begin drafting new laws to put his ideas into practice.
▪ This rump has been ordered to draft a new electoral law within two months so that new elections can be held.
▪ It took until May 1949 to draft the Basic Law.
legislation
▪ There is a movement afoot to draft legislation that would repeal the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings law.
▪ Under severe pressure from the neighborhood, the council drafted legislation to stop construction of the metal houses.
▪ The 40-member steering committee was mandated to formulate agreements on all outstanding issues and to draft legislation to formalize any agreements.
letter
▪ I've already drafted a letter informing him that it may be some time before Miss Brown's estate is settled.
▪ I drafted a letter to the publisher, complaining about the offending sentence.
▪ I will send copies of the correspondence, and we should draft follow up letters.
▪ George had drafted a letter in her name concerning her thoughts on her novel Frankenstein.
officer
▪ Police drafted armed officers into the village and called in a helicopter with heat-seeking equipment.
paper
▪ At her request, an interagency team was organized to draft a strategy paper laying out the reasons for ousting Boutros-Ghali.
plan
▪ With those principles, Lord Owen and Mr Vance drafted their plan.
▪ Kwalwasser drafted a reorganization plan for his office that the board of education approved Tuesday.
▪ The parents also complained they were not consulted in drafting the plan.
▪ Whenever I draft a plan, it is approved almost without consideration.
▪ He drafted plans, elegant plans, in eighth -, quarter -, and half-inch scale.
proposal
▪ There is an element of utopianism in drafting such proposals, though I believe these ideas are worth pursuing.
▪ The two friends drafted a fee proposal for their client, asking Duboc to pay them $ 3 million.
statement
▪ One or other of them drafted a statement which was a flat denial that he had misbehaved either sexually or politically.
▪ Subgroups again met to draft a statement.
▪ You might draft a specimen statement and show it as an appendix.
version
▪ He asked Bill Hope to draft a final version that could be tested one more time back in the company.
■ VERB
begin
▪ A ministerial meeting in Venice agreed to this and in June work began to draft the treaties.
▪ There was widespread concern about the effect of the movies and over 30 states began to draft censorship bills.
▪ Instead, he believes he can begin drafting new laws to put his ideas into practice.
▪ The drafter should not begin to draft until he/she knows exactly what he/she wants to say.
▪ Now, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, all these councils have begun preparations to draft or update their plans.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Ballou drafted a proposal which was later presented to the school board.
▪ Craigwell was the first player drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks.
▪ She's busy drafting her speech for next week's conference.
▪ Somehow my boss drafted me into filing these reports.
▪ The prisoners sat down together to draft a letter to the governor.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A 16-member commission to draft a new constitution was also set up.
▪ He was drafted into civilian service by missy Peckha.
▪ Officials are drafting the strategy, which aims to raise teaching standards through training and staff support.
▪ She drafts official proclamations and reads them with great ceremony.
▪ The drafter should not begin to draft until he/she knows exactly what he/she wants to say.
▪ The White House did not draft its own amendment, and Clinton said he would work with Congress to draft one.
▪ With those principles, Lord Owen and Mr Vance drafted their plan.
III.adjective
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Garven said he could not reveal details of the draft report.
▪ It was almost 2am when the news came through that a draft agreement had been reached.
▪ On the last day, the team presents a draft report to the superintendent.
▪ The council also instructed Gittings and Lounsbery to come back in 30 days with a draft ordinance for a citywide cabaret tax.
▪ The packs will include title documents, searches, surveys and a draft contract.
▪ We have had thousands of requests for the draft procedures'.
Related phrases:
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Draft

Draft \Draft\, a.

  1. Pertaining to, or used for, drawing or pulling (as vehicles, loads, etc.). Same as Draught; as, a draft horse.

  2. Relating to, or characterized by, a draft, or current of air. Same as Draught.

    Note: The forms draft and draught, in the senses above-given, are both in approved use.

    Draft box, Draft engine, Draft horse, Draft net, Draft ox, Draft tube. Same as Draught box, Draught engine, etc. See under Draught.

Draft

Draft \Draft\ (dr[.a]ft), n. [The same word as draught. OE. draught, draht, fr. AS. dragan to draw. See Draw, and cf. Draught.]

  1. The act of drawing; also, the thing drawn. Same as Draught.

    Everything available for draft burden. -- S. G. Goodrich.

  2. (Mil.) A selecting or detaching of soldiers from an army, or from any part of it, or from a military post; also from any district, or any company or collection of persons, or from the people at large; also, the body of men thus drafted.

    Several of the States had supplied the deficiency by drafts to serve for the year.
    --Marshall.

  3. An order from one person or party to another, directing the payment of money; a bill of exchange.

    I thought it most prudent to defer the drafts till advice was received of the progress of the loan. -- A. Hamilton.

  4. An allowance or deduction made from the gross weight of goods. -- Simmonds.

  5. A drawing of lines for a plan; a plan delineated, or drawn in outline; a delineation. See Draught.

  6. The form of any writing as first drawn up; the first rough sketch of written composition, to be filled in, or completed. See Draught.

  7. (Masonry)

    1. A narrow border left on a finished stone, worked differently from the rest of its face.

    2. A narrow border worked to a plane surface along the edge of a stone, or across its face, as a guide to the stone-cutter.

  8. (Milling) The slant given to the furrows in the dress of a millstone.

  9. (Naut.) Depth of water necessary to float a ship. See Draught.

  10. A current of air. Same as Draught.

  11. A quantity of liquid poured out for drinking; a dose.

  12. The act of drawing a quantity of liquid from a large container; also, the quantity of liquid so drawn.

  13. A device for regulating the flow of gases in a chimney, stovepipe, fireplace, etc.; as, to close the chimney draft. It is usually a flat plate of the same internal dimensions as the flue, which can be rotated to be parallel to or perpendicular to the current of gases.

Draft

Draft \Draft\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Drafted; p. pr. & vb. n. Drafting.]

  1. To draw the outline of; to delineate.

  2. To compose and write; as, to draft a memorial.

  3. To draw from a military band or post, or from any district, company, or society; to detach; to select; especially, to compulsorily select and induct members of a population to serve in the armed forces.

    HotLips Houlihan: How did a degenerate person like him achieve such a position of responsibility in the army? Radar: He was drafted.
    --M*A*S*H (the movie)

    Some royal seminary in Upper Egypt, from whence they drafted novices to supply their colleges and temples. -- Holwell.

  4. To transfer by draft.

    All her rents been drafted to London. -- Fielding.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
draft

c.1500, spelling variant of draught (q.v.) to reflect change in pronunciation. Among the senses that have gone with this form of the word in American English, the meaning "rough copy of a writing" (something "drawn") is attested from 14c.; that of "preliminary sketch from which a final copy is made" is from 1520s; that of "flow of a current of air" is from c.1770. Of beer from the 1830s, in reference to the method of "drawing" it from the cask. Sense in bank draft is from 1745. The meaning "a drawing off a group for special duty" is from 1703, in U.S. especially of military service; the verb in this sense first recorded 1714. Related: Drafted; drafting.

Wiktionary
draft

  1. (context not comparable English) Referring to drinks on tap, in contrast to bottled n. 1 An early version of a written work [also spelled draught]. 2 A preliminary sketch, rough outline [also spelled draught]. 3 (context nautical English) Depth of water needed to float a ship [also spelled draught]. 4 A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle [also spelled draught]. 5 draw through a flue of gasses (smoke) resulting from a combustion process. 6 A cheque, an order for money to be paid 7 An amount of liquid that is drunk in one swallow [also spelled draught] 8 conscription, the system of forcing people to serve in the military. 9 (context politics English) A system of forcing or convincing people to take an elected position 10 (context sports English) A system of assigning rookie players to professional sports teams 11 (context rail transport English) the pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack stretched condition. v

  2. 1 (context transitive English) to write a first version, make a preliminary sketch. 2 to write a law 3 (context transitive English) to conscript a person, force a person to serve in the military 4 to select and separate an animal or animals from a group. 5 (context transitive politics English) to force or convince a person to take an elected position they are not interested in 6 (context transitive sports English) to select a rookie player onto a professional sports team 7 (context intransitive English) To follow very closely behind another vehicle, thereby providing an aerodynamic advantage to both lead and follower, thereby conserving energy or increasing speed. 8 the act of drawing fibers out of a clump, for spinning in the production of yarn

Related phrases:
WordNet
draft

  1. v. draw up an outline or sketch for something; "draft a speech" [syn: outline]

  2. engage somebody to enter the army [syn: enlist, muster in] [ant: discharge]

  3. make a blueprint of [syn: blueprint, draught]

draft

  1. n. a document ordering the payment of money; drawn by one person or bank on another [syn: bill of exchange, order of payment]

  2. a current of air (usually coming into a room or vehicle) [syn: draught]

  3. a preliminary sketch of a design or picture [syn: rough drawing]

  4. a serving of drink (usually alcoholic) drawn from a keg; "they served beer on draft" [syn: draught, potation, tipple]

  5. preliminary version of a written work [syn: draft copy]

  6. the depth of a vessel's keel below the surface (especially when loaded) [syn: draught]

  7. a regulator for controlling the flow of air in a fireplace

  8. a dose of liquid medicine; "he took a sleeping draft" [syn: draught]

  9. compulsory military service [syn: conscription, muster, selective service]

  10. a large and hurried swallow; "he finished it at a single gulp" [syn: gulp, draught, swig]

  11. the act of moving a load by drawing or pulling [syn: draught, drawing]

Related phrases:
Gazetteer
Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Draft

Draft or draught may mean:

  • Draft beer or other beverage, served from a bulk keg or cask rather than a bottle or can
  • The Draft, the American term for conscription, compulsory enrollment of persons especially for military service
  • Demand draft, a check created by a merchant with a buyer's account number on it, but without the buyer's signature
Draft (politics)

In elections in the United States, political drafts are used to encourage or pressure a certain person to enter a political race, by demonstrating a significant groundswell of support for the candidate. A write-in campaign may also be considered a draft campaign.

Draft (sports)

A draft is a process used in some countries and sports to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selects a player, the team receives exclusive rights to sign that player to a contract, and no other team in the league may sign the player.

The best-known type of draft is the entry draft, which is used to allocate players who have recently become eligible to play in a league. Depending on the sport, the players may come from college, high school or junior teams or teams in other countries.

An entry draft is intended to prevent expensive bidding wars for young talent and to ensure that no one team can sign contracts with all of the best young players and make the league uncompetitive. To encourage parity, teams that do poorly in the previous season usually get to choose first in the postseason draft, sometimes with a "lottery" factor to discourage teams from deliberately losing.

Other types of drafts include the expansion draft, in which a new team selects players from other teams in the league; and the dispersal draft, in which a league's surviving teams select players from the roster of a newly defunct franchise.

Drafts are usually permitted under anti-trust or restraint of trade laws because they are included in collective bargaining agreements between leagues and labor unions representing players. These agreements generally stipulate that after a certain number of seasons, a player whose contract has expired becomes a free agent and can sign with any team. They also require minimum and sometimes maximum salaries for newly drafted players.

National Football League President Joseph Carr instituted a draft in 1935 as a way to restrain teams' payrolls and reduce the dominance of the league's perennial contenders. It was adopted by the precursor of the National Basketball Association in 1947; by the National Hockey League in 1963; and by Major League Baseball in 1965, although draft systems had been used in baseball since the 19th century.

Drafts are uncommon outside the U.S. and Canada, and most professional football clubs obtain young players through transfers from smaller clubs or by developing youth players through their own academies. The youth system is operated directly by the teams themselves, who develop their players from childhood. Parity in these leagues is instead maintained through promotion and relegation, which automatically expels the weakest teams from a league in exchange for the strongest teams in the next lower league. The result is a drastically different endgame for poor teams: a North American sports team may see the opportunity to get better through the draft after a poor season, but a European club will instead be relegated down to a league with less money and prestige, potentially exacerbating the problems.

Draft (boiler)

The difference between atmospheric pressure and the pressure existing in the furnace or flue gas passage of a boiler is termed as draft. Draft can also be referred to the difference in pressure in the combustion chamber area which results in the motion of the flue gases and the air flow.

Draft (sail)

In nautical parlance, the draft or draught of a sail is a degree of curvature in a horizontal cross-section. Any sail experiences a force from the prevailing wind just because it impedes the air's passage. A sail with draft also functions as an airfoil when set at an angle slightly greater than the angle of the wind, producing lift which then propels.

The word "belly" is also used in reference to the draft of a sail (i.e. "More belly in the main sail.").

Draft (musician)

Liam Tallon (born 1986), more commonly known by his stage name Draft, is an Electronic music producer, musician and DJ.

Draft (engineering)

In engineering, draft is the amount of taper for molded or cast parts perpendicular to the parting line. It can be measured in degrees or mm/mm (in/in).

Consider the fabrication of a hollow plastic box, without lid. Once the plastic has hardened around the mold, the mold must be removed. As the plastic hardens, it may contract slightly. By tapering the sides of the mold by an appropriate "draft angle", for instance 2° (two degrees), the mold will be easier to remove. This is a practice that is used, in applicable cases, when working with fiberglass.

If the mold is to be removed from the top, the box should taper in towards the bottom, such that measuring the bottom internal dimension will yield a smaller length and width than measuring the top from which the mold is extracted.

By specifying the opening length and width, a draft angle, and a depth, it is not necessary to specify the dimensions for the internal surface, as these may be calculated from the above.

The manufacture of a part that incorporates zero or negative angles may require a mold that can be separated into two or more parts, in order to release the casting.

Draft (hull)

The draft (American) or draught (British) of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull ( keel), with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained. Draft determines the minimum depth of water a ship or boat can safely navigate. The draft can also be used to determine the weight of the cargo on board by calculating the total displacement of water and then using Archimedes' principle. A table made by the shipyard shows the water displacement for each draft. The density of the water (salt or fresh) and the content of the ship's bunkers has to be taken into account. The closely related term "trim" is defined as the difference between the forward and aft drafts.

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "draft".

That during the existing insurrection, and as a necessary measure for suppressing the same, all rebels and insurgents, their aiders and abettors within the United States, and all persons discouraging volunteer enlistments, resisting militia drafts, or guilty of any disloyal practice affording aid and comfort to rebels against the authority of the United States, shall be subject to martial law, and liable to trial and punishment by courts-martial or military commissions.

Holy Tribunal presented Galileo its draft text of an abjuration for him to speak aloud.

The cuts and bruises I had received from the jagged sides of the rock shaft were paining me woefully, their soreness enhanced to a stinging or burning acuteness by some pungent quality in the faint draft, and the mere act of rolling over was enough to set my whole frame throbbing with untold agony.

It might have been a draft, Alec reasoned, taking a second glance around.

When an administrative agency engages in a legislative function, as, for example, when, in pursuance of statutory authorization, it drafts regulations of general application affecting an unknown number of people, it need not, any more than does a legislative assembly, afford a hearing prior to promulgation.

The carracks had too deep a draft to bring them in the way that those bedamned galleys had run up the beach.

At dessert Calsabigi begged me to give him my opinion of a scheme he had drafted, the aim of which was to bring in a sum of two million crowns, so that the credit of the lottery might remain secure.

Ridgeson had called, asking for background and clarification on some points, and a copy of the rough draft of the booklet had been sent to him.

I wanted to drive deep into the Atchafalaya Swamp, past the confines of reason, into the past, into a world of lost dialects, gator hunters, busthead whiskey, moss harvesters, Jax beer, trotline runners, moonshiners, muskrat trappers, cockfights, bloodred boudin, a jigger of Jim Beam lowered into a frosted schooner of draft, outlaw shrimpers, dirty rice black from the pot, hogmeat cooked in rum, Pearl and Regal and Grand Prize and Lone Star iced down in washtubs, crawfish boiled with cob corn and artichokes, all of it on the tree-flooded, alluvial rim of the world, where the tides and the course of the sun were the only measures of time.

I, for example, have been forced to draft counter-legislation for bribery at the curule elections.

Plebsand Corneliusinto agreeing that Gaius Piso himself should draft the new bribery law.

So edition 1824, which is supported by the Bodleian manuscript,--both the cancelled draft and the revised version: cf.

HAD sent me a letter and a certified bank draft: instantly cashable money.

It is in the form of a draft, cashable in Sydney and-was Intending to display the draft, in proof of his words, Henry felt in the pocket of his coat and found it empty.

Miss Hyacinth Anastasia Wallace, the one girl I thought had friend potential, turned out to be a Manhattan celebutante hoping to gain credibility by slumming at Pineville High for a marking period or two, then writing a book about it, which was optioned by Miramax before she completed the spell check on the last draft, and will be available in stores nationwide just in time for Christmas.