draw off

verb

To remove by using a siphon.

“We need a diversion to draw them off.”

Similar
draw awaypull offplucktweakwithdrawdrawtake out
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Meanings

verbdraw off (third-person singular simple present draws off, present participle drawing off, simple past drew off, past participle drawn off)

present singular third person draws off · participle present drawing off · past drew off · participle past drawn off

  1. idiomatictransitiveTo remove by using a siphon.

    The butler drew off wine from a barrel.

  2. datedslangtransitiveTo distract (someone).

    We need a diversion to draw them off.

  3. intransitiveTo retire or retreat.

    The dog obeyed the significant beck of his finger, and they drew off, stealthily, together.

    1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    One of the lynxes moved; it drew off a little farther, as though deciding to abandon the fight.

    1966, Robert William Murphy, The Phantom Setter, and Other Stories, page 102

Synonyms & antonyms

verbremove by drawing or pulling

Similar
draw awaypull offplucktweak
Broader
removetaketake away

verbremove (a commodity) from (a supply source)

Similar
withdrawdrawtake out
Broader
removetaketake away
Also see
drawdraw awaypick offpluckpull offtake outtweakwithdraw

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

draw off. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/draw%20off

MLA

“draw off.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/draw%20off. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “draw off,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/draw%20off.

Source: draw off on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.