draft

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A current of air in an enclosed area.
2. n. A device that regulates the flow or circulation of air.
3. n. The act of pulling loads; traction.
4. n. Something that is pulled or drawn; a load.
5. n. A team of animals used to pull loads.
6. n. Nautical The depth of a vessel's keel below the water line, especially when loaded: a river vessel of shallow draft.
7. n. A heavy demand on resources.
8. n. A written order directing the payment of money from an account or fund.
9. n. A gulp, swallow, or inhalation.
10. n. The amount taken in by a single act of drinking or inhaling.
11. n. A measured portion; a dose.
12. n. The drawing of a liquid, as from a cask or keg.
13. n. An amount drawn: ordered two drafts of ale.
14. n. The process or method of selecting one or more individuals from a group, as for a service or duty: a candidate who did not pursue the nomination, but accepted a draft by the party convention.
15. n. Compulsory enrollment in the armed forces; conscription.
16. n. A body of people selected or conscripted.
17. n. Sports A system in which the exclusive rights to new players are distributed among professional teams.
18. n. The act of drawing in a fishnet.
19. n. The quantity of fish caught.
20. n. Any of various stages in the development of a plan, document, or picture: a preliminary draft of a report; the final draft of a paper.
21. n. A representation of something to be constructed.
22. n. A narrow line chiseled on a stone to guide a stonecutter in leveling its surface.
23. n. A slight taper given a die to facilitate the removal of a casting.
24. n. An allowance made for loss in weight of merchandise.
25. v. To select from a group for some usually compulsory service: drafted into the army.
26. v. To select from a group for placement on a sports team.
27. v. To draw up a preliminary version of or plan for.
28. v. To create by thinking and writing; compose: draft a speech.
29. v. To work as a drafter.
30. v. To move, ride, or drive close behind a fast-moving object so as to take advantage of the slipstream, especially in a race.
31. adj. Suited for or used for drawing heavy loads: oxen and other draft animals.
32. adj. Drawn from a cask or tap: draft beer.
33. idiom. on draft Drawn from a large container, such as a keg.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act of drawing or dragging (in any sense); a drawing; a draw; a haul; a pull.
2. n. The capacity of being dragged or hauled; the yielding to a force which draws or drags: as, a cart or plow of easy draft.
3. n. The act of drawing water from a well, or any liquid from a vessel; the state of being ready to be so drawn: as, ale on draught.
4. n. That which is drawn, dragged, or pulled; a load or burden to be drawn.
5. n. That which is secured by drawing or pulling; specifically, that which is obtained by drawing a net through the water in fishing; a haul.
6. n. The act of drinking, as of water or wine.
7. n. A quantity of a liquid drunk at one time; a quantity, especially of a medicine, prescribed to be drunk at one time.
8. n. A drawing by sensuous or mental motives; attraction; enticement; inducement.
9. n. The act of drawing or taking away a part; the act of taking a number or a portion from an aggregate; a levy; the act of depleting or reducing in number, force, etc.: as, a draft upon his resources.
10. n. A selection of men or things for a special duty or purpose; specifically, a selection or drawing of persons from the general body of the people, by lot or otherwise, for military service; a levy; conscription; also, a selection of persons already in service, to be sent from one post or organization to another, in either the army or the navy; a detachment; also, a transfer of vessels of war to a different fleet or squadron.
11. n. A team of horses in a cart or wagon. Brockett.
12. n. The depth of water which a ship draws or requires to float it; the depth a ship sinks in water, especially when laden: as, a ship of 12 feet draft. If the vessel is fully laden, it is termed the load-water draft; if unloaded, the light-water draft.
13. n. A written order drawn by one person upon another; a writing directing the payment of money on account of the drawer: a bill of exchange; particularly, an inland bill of exchange. Drafts are frequently used by the agents or officers of corporations, one agent drawing on another. One reason for using them is the convenience in keeping accounts and having vouchers for payments. Drafts are frequently used between municipal officers, and are not usually negotiable instruments when thus used. Abbreviated dft.
14. n. The distance to which an arrow may be shot; a bow-shot. Also called bow-draught.
15. n. The drawing or moving of air; the air so drawn or moved; a confined current, of air, as in a room or in the flue of a chimney. The draft of a chimney depends, apart from the mode of construction, on the difference of the density of the rarefied column inside the chimney, as compared with an equal column of the external atmosphere, or on the difference in height of the two columns of elastic fluid, supposing them reduced to the same standard of density. The velocity of the current is the same as that of a heavy body let fall from a height equal to the difference in height of two such aërial columns. Drafts may be produced or increased by a blast which rarefies the air above the fire (a blast-draft), or by blowers which compress the air beneath the fire (a forced draft).
16. n. A move in chess or checkers.
17. n. plural The game of checkers. The name draughts (literally ‘moves’) has reference to the manner of playing, the name checkers to the kind of board used. See checker, 3.
18. n. A mild blister; a poultice.
19. n. A drain; a sink; a privy.
20. n. An allowance for waste of goods sold by weight; also, an allowance made at the custom-house on excisable goods.
21. n. The act of drawing; delineation; that which is delineated; a representation by lines, as the figure of a house, a machine, a fort, etc., drawn on paper; a drawing or first sketch; an outline.
22. n. Hence A first sketch, outline, or copy of any writing or composition; the proposed form of written instrument prepared for amendment and alteration, as may be required, preliminary to making a fair copy.
23. n. A treatise; a discourse.
24. n. A drawbridge: same as draught-bridge.
25. n. In founding, the slight bevel given to the pattern for a casting, in order that it may be drawn from the sand without injury to the mold.
26. n. In masonry, a line on the surface of a stone hewn to the breadth of the chisel.
27. n. In weaving, the cording of a loom or the arrangement of the heddles.
28. n. The sectional area of the openings in a turbine-wheel or in a sluice-gate.
29. n. The degree of deflection of a millstone-furrow from a radial direction.
30. n. A stroke.
31. n. Skill; art; stratagem.
32. n. A company or lot.
33. n. The heart, liver, and lights of a calf or sheep: in this sense only draught. Also called pluck.
34. Used or suited for drawing loads: as, draft cattle.
35. Being on draught; drawn as required from the cask: as, draught ale.
36. To draw; pull. The cold and dense polar water, as it flows in at the bottom of the equatorial column, will not directly take the place of that which has been drafted off from the surface. W. B. Carpenter, in Croll's Climate and Time, p. 164.
37. In weaving, to draw (thread) through the heddles.
38. To draw out by selection, as for service; levy; conscript; specifically, to select (persons) by a draft for military purposes.
39. To draw in outline; delineate; sketch; outline.
40. To prepare the proposed form of, as a document or writing of any kind; make a first sketch of in writing: as, to draft a memorial or a lease.
41. n. Same as draff.
42. n. In textile-manuf., the amount of attenuation of a lap, sliver, or roving effected by drawing it between rollers running at different speeds.
43. n. A body or bunch of cattle which have been separated from the rest of the herd. See draft, 10.
44. In cotton manuf., to attenuate (a lap, sliver, or roving) by drawing it between rollers which run at different speeds.
45. To separate (and sort) from the herd: as, to draft cattle. See def. 3.

Wiktionary

1. n. An early version of a written work
2. n. A preliminary sketch, rough outline
3. n. Draw through a flue of gasses (smoke) resulting from a combustion process.
4. n. A cheque, an order for money to be paid
5. n. conscription, the system of forcing people to serve in the military.
6. n. sports A system of assigning rookie players to professional sports teams
7. n. rail transport the pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack stretched condition.
8. v. transitive to write a first version, make a preliminary sketch.
9. v. write a law
10. v. transitive to conscript a person, force a person to serve in the military
11. v. to select and separate an animal or animals from a group.
12. v. transitive to force or convince a person to do a job they do not want to do
13. v. transitive, sports to select a rookie player onto a professional sports team
14. 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.
15. v. the act of drawing fibers out of a clump, for spinning in the production of yarn
16. adj. not comparable Referring to drinks on tap, in contrast to bottled

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act of drawing; also, the thing drawn. Same as draught.
2. n. (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.
3. n. An order from one person or party to another, directing the payment of money; a bill of exchange.
4. n. An allowance or deduction made from the gross weight of goods.
5. n. A drawing of lines for a plan; a plan delineated, or drawn in outline; a delineation. See Draught.
6. n. 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. n. A narrow border left on a finished stone, worked differently from the rest of its face.
8. n. 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.
9. n. (Milling) The slant given to the furrows in the dress of a millstone.
10. n. (Naut.) Depth of water necessary to float a ship. See Draught.
11. n. A current of air. Same as Draught.
12. n. A quantity of liquid poured out for drinking; a dose.
13. n. The act of drawing a quantity of liquid from a large container; also, the quantity of liquid so drawn.
14. n. A device for regulating the flow of gases in a chimney, stovepipe, fireplace, etc.. 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.
15. adj. Pertaining to, or used for, drawing or pulling (as vehicles, loads, etc.). Same as draught.
16. adj. Relating to, or characterized by, a draft, or current of air. Same as Draught.
17. v. To draw the outline of; to delineate.
18. v. To compose and write.
19. v. 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.
20. v. To transfer by draft.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a regulator for controlling the flow of air in a fireplace
2. n. the act of moving a load by drawing or pulling
3. v. engage somebody to enter the army
4. v. draw up an outline or sketch for something
5. n. a preliminary sketch of a design or picture
6. n. the depth of a vessel's keel below the surface (especially when loaded)
7. n. a current of air (usually coming into a chimney or room or vehicle)
8. n. any of the various versions in the development of a written work
9. n. compulsory military service
10. n. a document ordering the payment of money; drawn by one person or bank on another
11. n. a serving of drink (usually alcoholic) drawn from a keg
12. n. a dose of liquid medicine
13. v. make a blueprint of
14. n. a large and hurried swallow