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Draw back   /drɔ bæk/   Listen
verb
draw  v. t.  (past drew; past part. drawn; pres. part. drawing)  
1.
To cause to move continuously by force applied in advance of the thing moved; to pull along; to haul; to drag; to cause to follow. "He cast him down to ground, and all along Drew him through dirt and mire without remorse." "He hastened to draw the stranger into a private room." "Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?" "The arrow is now drawn to the head."
2.
To influence to move or tend toward one's self; to exercise an attracting force upon; to call towards itself; to attract; hence, to entice; to allure; to induce. "The poet Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and floods." "All eyes you draw, and with the eyes the heart."
3.
To cause to come out for one's use or benefit; to extract; to educe; to bring forth; as:
(a)
To bring or take out, or to let out, from some receptacle, as a stick or post from a hole, water from a cask or well, etc. "The drew out the staves of the ark." "Draw thee waters for the siege." "I opened the tumor by the point of a lancet without drawing one drop of blood."
(b)
To pull from a sheath, as a sword. "I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them."
(c)
To extract; to force out; to elicit; to derive. "Spirits, by distillations, may be drawn out of vegetable juices, which shall flame and fume of themselves." "Until you had drawn oaths from him."
(d)
To obtain from some cause or origin; to infer from evidence or reasons; to deduce from premises; to derive. "We do not draw the moral lessons we might from history."
(e)
To take or procure from a place of deposit; to call for and receive from a fund, or the like; as, to draw money from a bank.
(f)
To take from a box or wheel, as a lottery ticket; to receive from a lottery by the drawing out of the numbers for prizes or blanks; hence, to obtain by good fortune; to win; to gain; as, he drew a prize.
(g)
To select by the drawing of lots. "Provided magistracies were filled by men freely chosen or drawn."
4.
To remove the contents of; as:
(a)
To drain by emptying; to suck dry. "Sucking and drawing the breast dischargeth the milk as fast as it can generated."
(b)
To extract the bowels of; to eviscerate; as, to draw a fowl; to hang, draw, and quarter a criminal. "In private draw your poultry, clean your tripe."
5.
To take into the lungs; to inhale; to inspire; hence, also, to utter or produce by an inhalation; to heave. "Where I first drew air." "Drew, or seemed to draw, a dying groan."
6.
To extend in length; to lengthen; to protract; to stretch; to extend, as a mass of metal into wire. "How long her face is drawn!" "And the huge Offa's dike which he drew from the mouth of Wye to that of Dee."
7.
To run, extend, or produce, as a line on any surface; hence, also, to form by marking; to make by an instrument of delineation; to produce, as a sketch, figure, or picture.
8.
To represent by lines drawn; to form a sketch or a picture of; to represent by a picture; to delineate; hence, to represent by words; to depict; to describe. "A flattering painter who made it his care To draw men as they ought to be, not as they are." "Can I, untouched, the fair one's passions move, Or thou draw beauty and not feel its power?"
9.
To write in due form; to prepare a draught of; as, to draw a memorial, a deed, or bill of exchange. "Clerk, draw a deed of gift."
10.
To require (so great a depth, as of water) for floating; said of a vessel; to sink so deep in (water); as, a ship draws ten feet of water.
11.
To withdraw. (Obs.) "Go wash thy face, and draw the action."
12.
To trace by scent; to track; a hunting term.
13.
(Games)
(a)
(Cricket) To play (a short-length ball directed at the leg stump) with an inclined bat so as to deflect the ball between the legs and the wicket.
(b)
(Golf) To hit (the ball) with the toe of the club so that it is deflected toward the left.
(c)
(Billiards) To strike (the cue ball) below the center so as to give it a backward rotation which causes it to take a backward direction on striking another ball.
(d)
(Curling) To throw up (the stone) gently.
14.
To leave (a contest) undecided; as, the battle or game was drawn. "Win, lose, or draw." Note: Draw, in most of its uses, retains some shade of its original sense, to pull, to move forward by the application of force in advance, or to extend in length, and usually expresses an action as gradual or continuous, and leisurely. We pour liquid quickly, but we draw it in a continued stream. We force compliance by threats, but we draw it by gradual prevalence. We may write a letter with haste, but we draw a bill with slow caution and regard to a precise form. We draw a bar of metal by continued beating.
To draw a bow, to bend the bow by drawing the string for discharging the arrow.
To draw a cover, to clear a cover of the game it contains.
To draw a curtain, to cause a curtain to slide or move, either closing or unclosing. "Night draws the curtain, which the sun withdraws."
To draw a line, to fix a limit or boundary.
To draw back, to receive back, as duties on goods for exportation.
To draw breath, to breathe.
To draw cuts or To draw lots. See under Cut, n.
To draw in.
(a)
To bring or pull in; to collect.
(b)
To entice; to inveigle.
To draw interest, to produce or gain interest.
To draw off, to withdraw; to abstract.
To draw on, to bring on; to occasion; to cause. "War which either his negligence drew on, or his practices procured."
To draw (one) out, to elicit cunningly the thoughts and feelings of another.
To draw out, to stretch or extend; to protract; to spread out. "Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?" "Linked sweetness long drawn out."
To draw over, to cause to come over, to induce to leave one part or side for the opposite one.
To draw the longbow, to exaggerate; to tell preposterous tales.
To draw (one) to or To draw (one) on to (something), to move, to incite, to induce. "How many actions most ridiculous hast thou been drawn to by thy fantasy?"
To draw up.
(a)
To compose in due form; to draught; to form in writing.
(b)
To arrange in order, as a body of troops; to array. "Drawn up in battle to receive the charge."
Synonyms: To Draw, Drag. Draw differs from drag in this, that drag implies a natural inaptitude for drawing, or positive resistance; it is applied to things pulled or hauled along the ground, or moved with toil or difficulty. Draw is applied to all bodies moved by force in advance, whatever may be the degree of force; it commonly implies that some kind of aptitude or provision exists for drawing. Draw is the more general or generic term, and drag the more specific. We say, the horses draw a coach or wagon, but they drag it through mire; yet draw is properly used in both cases.



Draw  v. i.  (past drew; past part. drawn; pres. part. drawing)  
1.
To pull; to exert strength in drawing anything; to have force to move anything by pulling; as, a horse draws well; the sails of a ship draw well. Note: A sail is said to draw when it is filled with wind.
2.
To draw a liquid from some receptacle, as water from a well. "The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep."
3.
To exert an attractive force; to act as an inducement or enticement. "Keep a watch upon the particular bias of their minds, that it may not draw too much."
4.
(Med.) To have efficiency as an epispastic; to act as a sinapism; said of a blister, poultice, etc.
5.
To have draught, as a chimney, flue, or the like; to furnish transmission to smoke, gases, etc.
6.
To unsheathe a weapon, especially a sword. "So soon as ever thou seest him, draw; and as thou drawest, swear horrible."
7.
To perform the act, or practice the art, of delineation; to sketch; to form figures or pictures. "Skill in drawing."
8.
To become contracted; to shrink. "To draw into less room."
9.
To move; to come or go; literally, to draw one's self; with prepositions and adverbs; as, to draw away, to move off, esp. in racing, to get in front; to obtain the lead or increase it; to draw back, to retreat; to draw level, to move up even (with another); to come up to or overtake another; to draw off, to retire or retreat; to draw on, to advance; to draw up, to form in array; to draw near, draw nigh, or draw towards, to approach; to draw together, to come together, to collect.
10.
To make a draft or written demand for payment of money deposited or due; usually with on or upon. "You may draw on me for the expenses of your journey."
11.
To admit the action of pulling or dragging; to undergo draught; as, a carriage draws easily.
12.
To sink in water; to require a depth for floating. "Greater hulks draw deep."
To draw to a head.
(a)
(Med.) To begin to suppurate; to ripen, as a boil.
(b)
Fig.: To ripen, to approach the time for action; as, the plot draws to a head.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Draw back" Quotes from Famous Books



... entreated her to give the unhappy girl more time; but he knew well enough that he was asking almost an impossibility—that the woman had no power to grant that which he implored of her. In her arrogant power she had pledged that young creature, body and soul, to the public. How could she draw back, when the crowding rush of the audience might now be heard from ...
— The Old Countess; or, The Two Proposals • Ann S. Stephens

... up with me, and said I little thought that the child was my sister, and how delightful it was to see us acting together. Well then, I can't say but a horror came over me. I couldn't for the life of me do anything but draw back, there was something so intolerable in the look of her eyes, and her caressing manner," and he shuddered, glad of his uncle's kind hand on his shoulder. "Somehow, I let her get me out upon the high ground, and there she said, 'So you are too great a swell to have word or look for your mother. ...
— The Long Vacation • Charlotte M. Yonge

... sight of her; Sforza scowled with an anxious and threatening aspect, far he knew not what impression might be produced on his ally by this scene. But he was soon reassured; far Charles replied that he had advanced too far to draw back now, and that the glory of his name was at stake as well as the interests of his kingdom, and that these two motives were far too important to be sacrificed to any sentiment of pity he might feel, however ...
— The Borgias - Celebrated Crimes • Alexandre Dumas, Pere

... ample time to take position, kept on its course to the south, leaving the rest of the fleet behind. To Turk and Christian alike this move on the part of Doria meant treachery, for which Doria's previous conduct gave ample color, but there was no time to draw back or reorganize ...
— A History of Sea Power • William Oliver Stevens and Allan Westcott

... she cried feverishly. "I am going to marry you, whether your eyes recover or not. Promise me you won't draw back, if ...
— Blue Aloes - Stories of South Africa • Cynthia Stockley


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