Dictionaries Dictionaries home English American English Academic Collocations German-English Dictionaries home American English Grammar Grammar home Practical English Usage Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta) Practical English Usage Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta) Word Lists Word Lists home My Word Lists Topics Recent additions Word Lists home Recent additions Resources Resources home Text Checker Dictionaries home American English Practical English Usage Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta) Word Lists home Recent additions Definition of drawing noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary [countable] a picture made using a pencil or pen rather than paint a pencil/pen-and-ink/charcoal drawing drawing of somebody/something a drawing of a yacht detailed drawings of local plants and animals The original architectural drawings of the building had been lost. He did a drawing of the old farmhouse. The children were asked to make a drawing of a dinosaur. drawing by somebody a drawing by Paul Klee Collocations Fine arts Fine arts Creating art make a work of art/a drawing/a sketch/a sculpture/a statue/engravings/etchings/prints do an oil painting/a self-portrait/a line drawing/a rough sketch create a work of art/an artwork/paintings and sculptures produce paintings/portraits/oil sketches/her most celebrated work/a series of prints paint a picture/landscape/portrait/mural/in oils/in watercolours/ (US English) in watercolors/on canvas draw a picture/a portrait/a cartoon/a sketch/a line/a figure/the human form/in charcoal/in ink sketch a preliminary drawing/a figure/a shape carve a figure/an image/a sculpture/reliefs/a block of wood sculpt a portrait bust/a statue/an abstract figure etch a line/a pattern/a design/a name into the glass mix colours/ (US English) colors/pigments/paints add/apply thin/thick layers of paint/colour/ (US English) color/pigment use oil pastels/charcoal/acrylic paint/a can of spray paint work in bronze/ceramics/stone/oils/pastels/watercolour/a wide variety of media Describing art paint/depict a female figure/a rural scene/a pastoral landscape/a domestic interior depict/illustrate a traditional/mythological/historical/religious theme create an abstract composition/a richly textured surface/a distorted perspective paint dark/rich/skin/flesh tones use broad brush strokes/loose brushwork/vibrant colours/a limited palette/simple geometric forms develop/adopt/paint in a stylized manner/an abstract style Showing and selling art commission a new piece/a bronze bust of somebody/a portrait/a religious work/an artist to paint something frame a painting/portrait hang art/a picture/a painting display/exhibit modern art/somebody’s work/a collection/original artwork/drawings/sculptures/a piece/a painting be displayed/hung in a gallery/museum install/place a sculpture in/at/on something erect/unveil a bronze/marble/life-size statue hold/host/mount/open/curate/see an exhibition (especially British English) / (North American English usually) an exhibit be/go on (British English) exhibition/ (North American English) exhibit feature/promote/showcase a conceptual artist/contemporary works collect contemporary art/modern British paintings/Japanese prints restore/preserve a fresco/great works of art Synonyms picture picture painting ▪ drawing ▪ portrait ▪ print ▪ sketch These are all words for a scene, person or thing that has been represented on paper by drawing, painting, etc. picture a scene, person or thing that has been represented on paper using a pencil, a pen or paint: The children were drawing pictures of their pets. painting a picture that has been made using paint: a collection of paintings by American artists drawing a picture that has been made using a pencil or pen, not paint: a pencil/charcoal drawing portrait a painting, drawing or photograph of a person, especially of the head and shoulders: Vermeer’s ‘Portrait of the artist in his studio’ a self-portrait (= a painting that you do of yourself) print a picture that has been copied from a painting using photography: a Renoir print sketch a simple picture that is drawn quickly and does not have many details: I usually do a few very rough sketches before I start on a painting. Patterns to draw a picture/portrait/sketch to paint a picture/portrait to make a painting/drawing/portrait/print/sketch to do a painting/drawing/portrait/sketch see also life drawing ( 2 ) , line drawing , technical drawing ( 1 ) Extra Examples a collection of children’s drawings The bridge looked quite different from the architect's original drawings. The door opened onto a courtyard, as shown in the drawing. The drawing shows the Market Square. a scale drawing of a jet a working drawing of the proposed power station Topics Art a2 Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjective chalk charcoal ink … verb + drawing create do execute … drawing + verb depict something show something accompany something … drawing + noun board preposition in a/the drawing drawing by See full entry Want to learn more? Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app. a pencil/pen-and-ink/charcoal drawing drawing of somebody/something a drawing of a yacht detailed drawings of local plants and animals The original architectural drawings of the building had been lost. He did a drawing of the old farmhouse. The children were asked to make a drawing of a dinosaur. drawing by somebody a drawing by Paul Klee make a work of art/a drawing/a sketch/a sculpture/a statue/engravings/etchings/prints do an oil painting/a self-portrait/a line drawing/a rough sketch create a work of art/an artwork/paintings and sculptures produce paintings/portraits/oil sketches/her most celebrated work/a series of prints paint a picture/landscape/portrait/mural/in oils/in watercolours/ (US English) in watercolors/on canvas draw a picture/a portrait/a cartoon/a sketch/a line/a figure/the human form/in charcoal/in ink sketch a preliminary drawing/a figure/a shape carve a figure/an image/a sculpture/reliefs/a block of wood sculpt a portrait bust/a statue/an abstract figure etch a line/a pattern/a design/a name into the glass mix colours/ (US English) colors/pigments/paints add/apply thin/thick layers of paint/colour/ (US English) color/pigment use oil pastels/charcoal/acrylic paint/a can of spray paint work in bronze/ceramics/stone/oils/pastels/watercolour/a wide variety of media paint/depict a female figure/a rural scene/a pastoral landscape/a domestic interior depict/illustrate a traditional/mythological/historical/religious theme create an abstract composition/a richly textured surface/a distorted perspective paint dark/rich/skin/flesh tones use broad brush strokes/loose brushwork/vibrant colours/a limited palette/simple geometric forms develop/adopt/paint in a stylized manner/an abstract style commission a new piece/a bronze bust of somebody/a portrait/a religious work/an artist to paint something frame a painting/portrait hang art/a picture/a painting display/exhibit modern art/somebody’s work/a collection/original artwork/drawings/sculptures/a piece/a painting be displayed/hung in a gallery/museum

install/place a sculpture in/at/on something erect/unveil a bronze/marble/life-size statue hold/host/mount/open/curate/see an exhibition (especially British English) / (North American English usually) an exhibit be/go on (British English) exhibition/ (North American English) exhibit feature/promote/showcase a conceptual artist/contemporary works collect contemporary art/modern British paintings/Japanese prints restore/preserve a fresco/great works of art The children were drawing pictures of their pets. a collection of paintings by American artists a pencil/charcoal drawing Vermeer’s ‘Portrait of the artist in his studio’ a self-portrait (= a painting that you do of yourself) I usually do a few very rough sketches before I start on a painting. to draw a picture/portrait/sketch to paint a picture/portrait to make a painting/drawing/portrait/print/sketch to do a painting/drawing/portrait/sketch a collection of children’s drawings The bridge looked quite different from the architect's original drawings. The door opened onto a courtyard, as shown in the drawing. The drawing shows the Market Square. a scale drawing of a jet a working drawing of the proposed power station depict something accompany something in a/the drawing Want to learn more? Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app. [uncountable] the art or skill of making pictures, plans, etc. using a pen or pencil I'm not very good at drawing. She teaches drawing at the women's prison in Philadelphia. see also life drawing ( 1 ) , technical drawing ( 2 ) Topics Hobbies a2 , Art a2 I'm not very good at drawing. She teaches drawing at the women's prison in Philadelphia. (North American English) (also draw British and North American English ) [usually singular] drawing (for something) the act of choosing something, for example the winner of a prize or the teams who play each other in a competition, usually by taking pieces of paper, etc. out of a container without being able to see what is written on them (North American English) ( British English draw ) a competition in which the winners are chosen in a drawing drawing pin noun drawing board noun drawing card noun drawing power noun drawing room noun life drawing noun line drawing noun technical drawing noun on the drawing board (go) back to the drawing board on the drawing board (go) back to the drawing board draw from phrasal verb draw in phrasal verb drawing board noun drawing card noun