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to draw up

to draw up

97 3.7
To prepare and write official papers such as contracts or wills
  • phrasal verb
  • /drɔː ʌp/
translation icon : redactar
  • Your mother had the good sense to draw up a will before her accident.
  • draw up plans
  • draw up a list
  • draw up an agreement

And so my first step is to draw up all the things they're doing right.

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Examples

  • I'll get my lawyers to draw up the contracts so we can get it done immediately.

  • The manager asked me to draw up a detailed report for the upcoming meeting.

  • I need you to draw up a contract for me.

  • But if you want to draw up a proposal for that, great.

  • I'll draw up the papers.

  • So if you want to introduce teaching for learning, I suggest that you start by drawing up learning goals.

  • I'll draw up a draft.

  • Older students may study these codes and then draw up a code of behavior for themselves.

    Academic text (1993)
  • We must draw up our plans... then arrange a conference with Saito... and set him straight.

  • Yet, both the private and public sectors have drawn up ambitious plans to expand aquaculture in the country.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

to draw
vsto draw up
  • Formal
152 7.2

Write a legal document such as a contract

is broader, covering formal documents and detailed plans beyond legal papers
to draft
vsto draw up
138 3.7

To make an early version of a document or plan

involves producing the full formal document rather than an initial outline
to frame
vsto draw up
132 3.9

To make the main structure and details of a plan or idea

goes further to write out complete, formal documents from that structure
to compose
vsto draw up
102 3.5

To make writing, music, or a plan

is limited to preparing formal written plans and official documents
to work up
vsto draw up
50 3.9

To develop an idea, plan, or design with effort

is specifically about preparing and writing formal documents rather than general development
to sketch
vsto draw up
45 3.0

To make a quick rough drawing to plan an idea

focuses on writing out formal plans and documents, not visual drafts
to write up
vsto draw up
38 3.5

Put information into a complete report

focuses on preparing and composing official documents and detailed instructions
to chalk out
vsto draw up
6.1

To make a simple plan or outline for something

creates the finished formal text rather than an initial rough plan

How Formal

to finalize
  • US
74 3.8
to draw up
97 3.7
draft
  • Specialized
245 3.7
to write
  • Literature
1.6
to jot down
  • Informal
27 2.9

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

draw + up

The meaning 'to straighten oneself to an erect posture' follows directly from combining 'draw' in the bodily sense 'to pull' with the directional particle 'up' (pull upwards), so a B1 learner who knows those constituent senses can infer the MWE. If a learner only knows the given sense of 'draw' as 'draft/compose', the connection is less clear, but the physical 'pull up' reading is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so overall the expression is compositional.

Etymology

Draw up comes from the idea of making a plan on paper: to draw is to put lines and words on a page and up gives the sense of finishing it. So to draw up a document came to mean 'prepare and write' an official paper.