draft
/dɹæft/noun, verb, adjective
draft is spelled D-R-A-F-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 41 times per million words in written English, the 2,438th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “draft vs draught” about 880 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, draft means “A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of draft is drafts.
How many letters and syllables are in draft?
| Letters | 5: D-R-A-F-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 41 times per million words; the 2,438th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is draft?
Draft appears 41 times per million words in written English, the 2,438th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce draft?
- UK /dɹɑːft/
- US /dɹæft/
- /dɹaft/
Draft has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-draught.ogg, EN-AU_ck1_draught.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with draft
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: draught.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with draft?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as draft from its last stressed vowel (/æft/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of draft
- drafts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- draught
- drafting participle, present
- drafted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does draft mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USA current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle.
- 2
USThe draw through a flue of gasses or smoke resulting from a combustion process.
- 3
USAn act of drinking.
- 4
USThe quantity of liquid (such as water, alcohol, or medicine) drunk in one swallow.
to drink at a draft
- 5
USA dose (of medicine, alcohol, etc.).
- 6
USLiquid, especially beer or other alcohol, drawn from a cask or keg rather than a bottle or can.
- 7
USThe depth of water needed to float a particular ship; the depth from the waterline to the bottom of a vessel's hull; the depth of water drawn by a vessel.
- 8
A version of a written work (such as a book or paper) or drawing.
I have to revise the first draft of my term paper.
verb
- 1
To write a first version; to make a preliminary sketch.
- 2
To draw in outline; to make a draught, sketch, or plan of, as in architectural and mechanical drawing.
- 3
To write a law.
- 4
To select (someone or something) for a particular role or purpose.
There was a campaign to draft Smith to run for President.
- 5
USTo conscript (a person); to force (a person) to serve in some capacity, especially in the military.
He was drafted during the Vietnam War.
- 6
To select and separate an animal or animals from a group.
The calves were drafted from the cows.
- 7
USTo select a rookie player onto a professional sports team.
After his last year of college football, he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins.
- 8
To follow very closely (behind another vehicle), thereby providing an aerodynamic advantage to both lead and follower and conserving energy or increasing speed.
adjective
- 1
USReferring to drinks on tap, in contrast to bottled.
I'd rather have a fresh, cheap draft beer.
- 2
USReferring to animals used for pulling heavy loads.
A Clydesdale is a draft horse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate draft?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of draft: dft..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Draft in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | courant d'air , tirage , gorgée , bière à la pression, pression , tirant |
| German | Zug, Luftzug, Durchzug, Zugluft , Schluck , zeichnen |
| Portuguese | corrente , gole, trago , chopp, chope, fino |
| Spanish | corriente, corriente de aire , trago , cerveza de barril , calado , borrador |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does draft come from?
A phonetic spelling of draught (compare laughter), from Middle English draught, draght (“that which is pulled; that which is drawn up, a design”), from Old English *dreaht, *dræht, from Proto-West Germanic *drahti, *drahtu, from Proto-Germanic *drahtuz (“a pulling, drawing”). Cognate with Dutch dracht, German Tracht, Icelandic dráttur. By surface analysis, draw + -t.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).