draw off

verb

drew off; drawn off; drawing off; draws off

intransitive verb

: to move apart or ahead

Examples of draw off in a Sentence

drew off the fat from the top of the drippings
Recent Examples on the Web Courts also lack resources to hold guardians accountable and prevent them from exploiting their wards, by drawing off of their savings or other assets. Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Mar. 2024 The wake surfing petition will attempt to draw off the same Wisconsin provision that allows citizens to ask any state agency for a ruling on the applicability of a law or rule enforced by that department. Journal Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2024 Eventually, that pile-up of material draws off enough energy that the count of high-energy photons starts to decline gradually. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 8 June 2023 In 2021, former Florida State Senator Frank Artiles was arrested and charged with helping prop up a spoiler candidate tasked with drawing off voters for Democrat incumbent Jose Javier Rodriguez, who subsequently lost his bid for reelection. Rafi Schwartz, The Week, 12 June 2023 The numbers have serious impacts on dollars-and-cents issues, from the size of the nation’s workforce to the number of people drawing off programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Dante Chinni, NBC News, 4 June 2023 The Suns bench stood up, clapped, and cheered, but those playing for the visiting team couldn’t draw off a raucous road crowd. Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 12 Jan. 2022 The more clay in the soil, the more ditches are needed to draw off the water. BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2021 That means the frozen-berry market could draw off more fruit and further limit fresh supplies, said Anthony Gallino, vice president of sales for Bobalu Berries, a California grower, packer and processor. Jesse Newman, WSJ, 5 May 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'draw off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of draw off was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near draw off

Cite this Entry

“Draw off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/draw%20off. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on draw off

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!