draft

The word “draft” means an early, unfinished version of a piece of writing. In plain terms, a rough first version of something written, or — in other senses — a flow of air, forced military service, or picking players for a team.

“Draft” is pronounced drahft (/dɹæft/ in IPA).

Here is “draft” used in a sentence: “She sent me the first draft of her novel.”

Depending on how it is used, “draft” can be a noun, a verb and an adjective.

The word “draft” comes from Old English. A phonetic respelling of "draught," from Old English dreaht, related to "draw.".

“Draft” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Draft” has 6 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an early, unfinished version of a piece of writing.

In American English, "draft" covers every sense — a version of writing, a current of air, beer from a tap, and military conscription. British English splits these: "draught" handles the air current and beer, while "draft" stays for a piece of writing or a bank draft. Same pronunciation, different spellings by region.

Writers usually speak of a rough or first draft, the very first attempt where ideas are captured loosely; a second or working draft, where structure and argument are tightened; and a final draft, the polished version ready to share. Each stage moves the writing closer to a finished, more considered form.

A draft lets you get ideas down without worrying about perfection, separating the messy work of thinking from the careful work of editing. It gives you something concrete to revise, spot weaknesses in, and reshape. Almost no strong piece of writing appears fully formed; it emerges through successive drafts.

A student jotting a loose, unstructured version of an essay before refining it is writing a draft. So is a novelist's messy first attempt at a chapter, or the marked-up early copy of a speech. Any early, incomplete version created with the intention of revising it later counts.