Draws

Draws is the plural of draw and can refer to several distinct concepts in different fields. In sports and competitive games, a draw denotes a game that ends with equal scores, resulting in a tie. Many leagues award points to both teams in a draw; where a decisive winner is required, tie-break procedures such as extra time or penalties may be used.

In lotteries, raffles, and other random-selection processes, a draw is the act of selecting winners by chance. Entries form a pool, and a draw determines which entrants win prizes. Draws are typically conducted with methods intended to ensure fairness, and results are announced publicly.

In the visual arts, drawing is a form of image-making produced by mark-making on a surface. A drawing can be a finished artwork or a preparatory study, created with media such as graphite, ink, charcoal, or crayon. The term draw also functions as a verb, meaning to create those marks or to pull something toward or away from a place.

Other uses of draw include to pull, haul, or extract something from a source (as in drawing water), to attract attention, or to select people or items by chance (as in drawing lots). The precise meaning of draws depends on context, but the common thread is the idea of producing a result through a process—whether by alliances and scoring, by chance, or by deliberate mark-making.