drawing

drawing — noun

1. the hobby or craft of creating pictures by hand using pens, pencils, or charcoal

1.nounA2
Definition

the hobby or craft of creating pictures by hand using pens, pencils, or charcoal, done as a pastime, a school subject, or a professional activity

Example

Yuki enjoys drawing in her sketchbook every evening after dinner.

common collocation: enjoy + drawing

The art teacher said that drawing helps children develop hand control and creativity.

drawing as a developmental tool for children

Common collocations
  • enjoy drawing
  • practise drawing
  • drawing class
  • drawing workshop
  • drawing skills
  • teach drawing
Synonyms
  • sketching

    more casual and quicker than drawing, often without fine detail

  • doodling

    informal; done absent-mindedly, not as a serious activity

Usage Note

Often used without an article when referring to the general activity: 'Drawing is relaxing.' To refer to a specific instance, use 'a drawing' (see sense 2).

Common Mistakes

I like drawing with paint.
I like painting with paint.' or 'I like drawing with pencils.
drawing uses a pen or pencil, whereas painting uses paint.

2. a picture made with a dry medium such as a pencil, pen, or stick of charcoal, as

2.nounA2
Definition

a picture made with a dry medium such as a pencil, pen, or stick of charcoal, as opposed to wet paint

Example

Kasia pinned her charcoal drawing of a tree above her desk.

collocation: charcoal drawing / pencil drawing

The museum displayed several pencil drawings from the nineteenth century.

Common collocations
  • pencil drawing
  • charcoal drawing
  • ink drawing
  • line drawing
  • make a drawing
  • create a drawing
  • a drawing of
Synonyms
  • sketch

    a quick, rough drawing with less detail

  • illustration

    a drawing used in a book or magazine, usually for decoration or explanation

Antonyms
  • painting

    a picture made with paint instead of a dry medium

Grammar Patterns

a drawing of + [subject]

Usage Note

A drawing is made with a dry medium (pencil, pen, charcoal, ink). Works made with wet paint are called paintings, not drawings.

Common Mistakes

She bought a beautiful drawing at the art gallery.' (when it is an oil painting)
She bought a beautiful painting at the art gallery.
if the work uses paint, call it a painting.

3. a picture drawn by hand that appears in a book, newspaper, magazine, or manual t

3.nounB1
Definition

a picture drawn by hand that appears in a book, newspaper, magazine, or manual to explain or decorate the text

Example

The children's book has colourful drawings on every page.

common context: children's books

Ravindra studied the technical drawings in the engineering manual before starting the project.

Common collocations
  • technical drawing
  • line drawing
  • detailed drawing
  • textbook drawing
  • magazine drawing
Synonyms
  • illustration

    the most common word for pictures in books or magazines

  • diagram

    a technical or explanatory drawing, often with labels

  • figure

    formal term used in academic and technical texts

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2: sense 3 specifically refers to drawings that are published alongside text, not stand-alone works of art.

Common Mistakes

The photograph in the textbook was a drawing of the water cycle.
The diagram in the textbook was a drawing of the water cycle.
photographs are taken with a camera; drawings are made by hand.

4. a method of picking a winner that involves selecting a ticket, name, or number b

4.nounB2
Definition

a method of picking a winner that involves selecting a ticket, name, or number by chance from a collection, often used in competitions or fundraisers

Example

The school held a drawing for a new bicycle to raise money for the library.

collocation: hold a drawing / prize drawing

Gabriela could not believe it when she won the prize drawing at the summer fair.

Common collocations
  • prize drawing
  • charity drawing
  • hold a drawing
  • win a drawing
  • drawing for
  • enter a drawing
Synonyms
  • raffle

    a drawing where participants buy tickets for a chance to win

  • lottery

    a large-scale drawing, often run by a government or organisation, with money prizes

  • sweepstake

    a drawing where winners are selected at random without requiring payment

Grammar Patterns

drawing for + [prize]

Usage Note

This sense often overlaps with raffle (when tickets are sold) and lottery (for larger prize pools). Drawing emphasises the act of randomly selecting the winner.

Common Mistakes

The winning drawing was announced at the event.' (confusing the picture with the selection)
The winner of the drawing was announced at the event.
'drawing' here is the selection event, not a picture.
Idioms

back to the drawing board

idiom

used to say that a plan, design, or idea has failed and a completely new approach is needed

The prototype did not work, so the team went back to the drawing board.

After the client rejected the proposal, Tamás realised it was back to the drawing board.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

A 'drawing' is a picture created with a pen, pencil, or similar dry medium, and can range from quick studies to finished artworks. A 'sketch' is a rough, unfinished drawing, often done rapidly to capture an idea or pose. 'Illustration' refers to a drawing that accompanies and explains a text — it prioritises clarity and narrative over artistic style. A 'diagram' is a simplified, technical drawing that shows how something works or is structured, using labels and arrows. For example, an artist's 'drawing' of a landscape may hang in a gallery, a designer's 'sketch' might sit in a notebook, a children's book 'illustration' depicts the story, and a 'diagram' of a bicycle shows where each part fits.

drawing ↗sketch ↗illustration ↗diagram ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • pencil drawing
  • charcoal drawing
  • ink drawing
  • line drawing
  • technical drawing
  • architectural drawing
  • prize drawing
  • charity drawing

Phrases

  • make a drawing
  • do a drawing
  • create a drawing
  • enter a drawing
  • win a drawing
  • hold a drawing

Prepositions

  • in a drawing
  • of a drawing
  • from a drawing
  • for a drawing

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

The word 'drawing' comes from the Old English verb 'drawan', which meant 'to pull or drag'. In the 14th century, people began using 'draw' to describe pulling a pen across paper to make lines — the origin of artistic drawing. By the 16th century, 'drawing' was also used for selecting winners by pulling lots from a container, giving us the lottery sense. The noun 'drawing' has referred to both the activity and the resulting picture since the 1300s.