# draft

> English word · Noun · IPA /dɹɑːft/ · frequency rank #2,438

## Definitions
1. A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle.
2. The draw through a flue of gasses or smoke resulting from a combustion process.
3. An act of drinking.
4. The quantity of liquid (such as water, alcohol, or medicine) drunk in one swallow.
5. A dose (of medicine, alcohol, etc.).
6. Liquid, especially beer or other alcohol, drawn from a cask or keg rather than a bottle or can.
7. The 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.
9. An unsent e-mail.
10. A preliminary sketch or outline for a plan.
11. An order for money to be paid; the document that states it: a cheque, note, bond, bill of exchange, money order, or IOU.
12. Conscription; the system of forcing people to serve in the military.
13. A person who has been drafted; a conscript or draftee.
14. A system of forcing or convincing people to take an elected position.
15. A system of assigning rookie players to professional sports teams.
16. A style of play in collectible card games, where players select from a shared pool of cards.
17. A quantity that is requisitioned or drawn out from a larger population.
18. The pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack (stretched) condition.
19. The bevel given to the pattern for a casting, so that it can be drawn from the sand without damaging the mould.
20. The action or an act (especially of a beast of burden or vehicle) of pulling something along or back.
21. The act of drawing in a net for fish.
22. That which is drawn in; a catch; a haul.
23. A small stream or tributary.
24. A ravine or narrow valley, especially one through which a stream (at least intermittently) flows.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **draw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-draw)
- **drag** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drag)
- **dram** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-dram)
- **drama** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drama)
- **drawn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drawn)
- **draws** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-draws)
- **drain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drain)
- **drake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drake)
- **drank** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drank)
- **drift** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drift)
- **drags** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drags)
- **drape** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drape)
- **Drago** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drago)
- **durant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-durant)
- **dreamt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-dreamt)
- **drifts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drifts)
- **drafted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-drafted)
- **draught** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/draft-vs-draught)
- **dat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dat-vs-draft)
- **deaf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-draft)

## Common misspellings (8)
`darft`, `ddraft`, `drafft`, `draftt`, `dratf`, `drfat`, `drraft`, `rdaft`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/draft