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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 4.3
Move closer to surround something
  • phrasal verb
  • /drɔ ɪn/
translation icon : acercarse
  • The music is particularly hitting the spot, though Connie Britton's presence is what initially drew me in.

That's the person that I can draw in, get under my control, and then I can exploit them.

Examples

  • So he did what seemed proper: he wrapped his arms around her and drew her in close against him.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • That's the person that I can draw in, get under my control, and then I can exploit them.

    andrew gold | heretics.

  • The average person is likely to be drawn in with the promise of scandal and intrigue.

    Academic text (1997)

  • In 1914, Europe went to war, and it was apparent to Hale that the United States would eventually be drawn in.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The magician's trick managed to draw in the audience, capturing their full attention with every move.

  • To keep potential customers interested, the marketing campaign aimed to draw in new clients with exciting offers.

  • The festival is designed to draw in attendees from all over the city to celebrate local culture.

Synonyms

to close in
vsto draw in
119 4.6

Surround or enclose a place by bringing things nearer from all sides

is used to approach intending capture or control rather than just enclosing
to close in on
vsto draw in
63 3.9

Move nearer to someone or something, often to surround and catch them

is used to approach with aim of capture or control
to draw near
vsto draw in
18 2.6

To move closer in place or time

involves surrounding with intent to capture or control not mere approach

Antonyms

to pull away
86 3.5

To move away from people or a place to create space

How Enclosing

to envelop
41 4.5
to encircle
33 3.4
to draw in
1 4.3
to close in
119 4.6
to surround
∞ 1.7

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 image of people, animals, or weather moving closer to surround someone or something: draw 'pull' and in 'toward the middle', like soldiers closing in on a building or fog rolling in to cover the coast. So it means 'to move closer and surround or approach'.