Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🧲 To attract people 😮‍💨 To inhale 🦵 To curl up 🎣 To pull inward 🔄 To approach closely 🚆 To arrive
to draw in

to draw in

1 3.9
Move something toward the centre
  • phrasal verb
  • /drɔ ɪn/
: recoger
  • The chef instructed the staff to draw in the ingredients for the special dish.

Examples

  • I am just going to do my brows, so I'm just going to draw in some further strokes.

  • Now we see it drawing in and pulling up to form the figure of the guard.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The soft, rather heavy arm about her shoulders drew her in.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • What especially drew me in was the reference to the inadequate teaching of history in our schools.

    Blog text (22)

  • This sparked a major controversy in 2002-2003 that drew in church, public, and government figures.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Here in the darkness, Artie drew in the oars and let the boat drift slowly.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • If the opening doesn't draw you in, you'll likely put it down and stop reading, much like an audience will tune out the speaker and either nap, text a friend, or leave.

    Blog text (32)

  • As the storm approached, we had to draw in the sails to prevent damage.

  • The team decided to draw in more resources to support the project.

Synonyms

to pull
vsto draw in
∞ 1.0

To move something toward you using force, often to remove it

moves inward toward a central point rather than any direction
to draw
vsto draw in
270 1.0

Pull something out of a place or container

moves inward toward a central point rather than general removal
to retract
vsto draw in
25 5.6

To pull something back so it is no longer sticking out

moves inward toward a central point instead of withdrawing away
to draw near
vsto draw in
18 2.6

To move closer in place or time

causes inward movement toward a central point rather than self approach
to suck in
vsto draw in
13 3.7

To pull air or liquid into something by making an empty space inside

moves inward toward a central point rather than by suction

Antonyms

to push out
16 3.2

To move something outward using force

How Inward

to fall in
30 4.4
to suck in
13 3.7
to draw in
1 3.9
to pull in
7 3.5

Surface Forms

draw in infinitive
drawing in present participle
draws in third person singular
drew in past
drawn in past participle

Morphology

draw + in

The meaning 'to attract or engage' is directly derivable from combining 'draw' (to pull/attract) with the directional particle 'in' (toward/into): together they yield the sense 'pull in' or 'bring in' people/attention. This verb+particle composition follows a standard, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will likely infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Draw in comes from the simple image of draw meaning 'pull' and in meaning 'toward you', like a fisherman pulling his net to the boat or a pilot pulling the landing gear into the plane. So it means 'to pull something inward or toward a center'.