drawl

/dɹɔːl/

//dɹɔːl// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"drawl" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“drawl” is uncommon English (frequency #54,135 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,135
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To drag on slowly and heavily; to dawdle or while away time indolently.

Corpus desk

Index EN-drawl · drawl · English

drawl · rank #54,135 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,135
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dragnet

Nearest frequency peer: dragnet (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “drawl”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “drawl” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for drawl
PropertyValue
Headworddrawl
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɹɔːl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#54,135
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “drawl” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).drawlfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “dragnet” (#54,134), “Dreyfuss” (#54,136), “duffle” (#54,139). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “drawl” is #54,135. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

drawl is uncommon English at frequency #54,135 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /dɹɔːl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for drawl, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a modern frequentative form of draw, equivalent to draw + -le. Compare draggle. Compare also Dutch dralen (“to drag out, delay, linger, tarry, dawdle”), Old Danish dravle (“to linger, loiter”), Icelandic dralla (“to loiter, linger”). The correct English form is drawl, spelled D-R-A-W-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To drag on slowly and heavily; to dawdle or while away time indolently.
  2. 2
    To utter or pronounce in a dull, spiritless tone, as if by dragging out the utterance.
  3. 3
    To move slowly and heavily; to move in a dull, slow, lazy manner.
  4. 4
    To speak with a slow, spiritless utterance, as from affectation, laziness, or lack of interest.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how drawl appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Tush, tush, Tarleton, Kemp, nor Singer, nor all the litter of Fooles that now come drawling behinde them, neuer plaid the Clownes more naturally then the arrantest Sot of you all, shall, if hee will but boyle my Instructions in his brainepan.
  2. Looke what leysure the old bearded Bawd takes / How softly she goes / How one leg comes drawling after another / Now she has her money, her armes are broken.

Etymology

From a modern frequentative form of draw, equivalent to draw + -le. Compare draggle. Compare also Dutch dralen (“to drag out, delay, linger, tarry, dawdle”), Old Danish dravle (“to linger, loiter”), Icelandic dralla (“to loiter, linger”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "drawl"?
"drawl" is spelled D-R-A-W-L. The IPA pronunciation is /dɹɔːl/.
What does "drawl" mean?
As a verb, "drawl" means: To drag on slowly and heavily; to dawdle or while away time indolently.
How do you pronounce "drawl"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "drawl" is /dɹɔːl/. 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 "drawl"?
From a modern frequentative form of draw, equivalent to draw + -le. Compare draggle. Compare also Dutch dralen (“to drag out, delay, linger, tarry, dawdle”), Old Danish dravle (“to linger, loiter”), Icelandic dralla (“to loiter, linger”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "drawl", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

doozy#54,130dupes#54,140Eason#54,141Daegu#54,106

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list