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draw

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "draw", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "draw" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "draw" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

draw is aEnglishverb. It means: Senses relating to exerting force or pulling. Pronounced /dɹɑ/. It ranks #1,629 in English word frequency. Often confused with dw and dry.

Key facts for draw
PropertyValue
Headworddraw
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɹɑ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,629
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of draw in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for draw is 4 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɹɑ/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,629 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 138 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 6 documented wrong-spelling variants for draw, with forms such as "darw", "ddraw", and "draww". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "dw", "dry", "Dre", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English drauen, drawen, draȝen, dragen (“to drag, pull; to draw (out); to attract; to entice, lure; to lead; to make a drawing; to move, travel; etc.”), from Old English dragan (“to drag, draw”), from Proto-West Germanic *dra… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is draw, spelled D-R-A-W, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  2. 2
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  3. 3
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  4. 4
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  5. 5
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  6. 6
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  7. 7
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  8. 8
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  9. 9
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  10. 10
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  11. 11
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  12. 12
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  13. 13
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  14. 14
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  15. 15
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  16. 16
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  17. 17
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  18. 18
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  19. 19
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  20. 20
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  21. 21
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  22. 22
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  23. 23
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  24. 24
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  25. 25
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  26. 26
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  27. 27
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  28. 28
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  29. 29
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  30. 30
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  31. 31
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  32. 32
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  33. 33
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  34. 34
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  35. 35
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  36. 36
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  37. 37
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  38. 38
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  39. 39
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  40. 40
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
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    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  42. 42
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  43. 43
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  44. 44
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  45. 45
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  46. 46
    Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
  47. 47
    Senses relating to attracting.
  48. 48
    Senses relating to attracting.
  49. 49
    Senses relating to attracting.
  50. 50
    Senses relating to attracting.
  51. 51
    Senses relating to attracting.
  52. 52
    Senses relating to attracting.
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    Senses relating to attracting.
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    Senses relating to attracting.
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    Senses relating to attracting.
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    Senses relating to attracting.
  57. 57
    Senses relating to attracting.
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    Senses relating to attracting.
  59. 59
    Senses relating to attracting.
  60. 60
    Senses relating to attracting.
  61. 61
    Senses relating to attracting.
  62. 62
    Senses relating to attracting.
  63. 63
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  64. 64
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  65. 65
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  66. 66
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  67. 67
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  68. 68
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  69. 69
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  70. 70
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  71. 71
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  72. 72
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  73. 73
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  74. 74
    Senses relating to extending or protracting.
  75. 75
    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
  76. 76
    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
  77. 77
    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
  78. 78
    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
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    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
  122. 122
    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
  123. 123
    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
  124. 124
    Senses relating to extracting or selecting.
  125. 125
    Senses relating to moving or travelling.
  126. 126
    Senses relating to moving or travelling.
  127. 127
    Senses relating to moving or travelling.
  128. 128
    Senses relating to moving or travelling.
  129. 129
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.
  130. 130
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.
  131. 131
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.
  132. 132
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.
  133. 133
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.
  134. 134
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.
  135. 135
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.
  136. 136
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.
  137. 137
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.
  138. 138
    Senses relating to depicting or representing.

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English drauen, drawen, draȝen, dragen (“to drag, pull; to draw (out); to attract; to entice, lure; to lead; to make a drawing; to move, travel; etc.”), from Old English dragan (“to drag, draw”), from Proto-West Germanic *dragan (“to carry; to haul”), from Proto-Germanic *draganą (“to carry; to pull, draw”); further etymology uncertain, often said to be from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to pull, draw”), but possibly from a non-Indo-European substrate root which is also the source of Latin trahō (“to pull, draw; etc.”). Doublet of drag and draught. The noun is derived from Middle English drau, draue (“action of shooting with a bow”), from drauen, drawen (verb). cognates * Albanian dredh (“to turn, spin”) * Danish drage * Dutch dragen * German tragen (“to carry”) * Old Armenian դառնամ (daṙnam, “to turn”) * Sanskrit ध्रजस् (dhrájas, “gliding course or motion”) * West Frisian drage

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: darw,ddraw,draww,drraw,drwa,rdaw

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for draw

Misspelling Variants of "draw"

darw4ddraw5draww5drraw5drwa4rdaw4
Misspelling Variants of "draw"

Frequency rank: #1,629 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "draw"?
"draw" is spelled D-R-A-W. The IPA pronunciation is /dɹɑ/.
What does "draw" mean?
As a verb, "draw" means: Senses relating to exerting force or pulling.
What words are commonly confused with "draw"?
"draw" is commonly confused with "dw", "dry", "Dre". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "draw"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "draw" is /dɹɑ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "draw"?
The verb is derived from Middle English drauen, drawen, draȝen, dragen (“to drag, pull; to draw (out); to attract; to entice, lure; to lead; to make a drawing; to move, travel; etc.”), from Old English dragan (“to drag, draw”), from Proto-West Ger... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter D in our English index:

All "D" wordsABCDEFGHIJKL

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.