Withdrew

How to spell withdrew

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce withdrew

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does withdrew mean?

1. verbTook something back, removed it, or moved away, as the past tense of withdraw.

Withdrew in a sentence

• She withdrew two hundred pounds from the cash machine before the shops closed.

• The troops quietly withdrew from the border region overnight.

Where does withdrew come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the past tense of 'withdraw', a verb that has been part of English since the 1200s. It was built from two native Old English elements: the prefix 'with', which here carries its older sense of 'back' or 'away from' rather than its modern meaning of 'together with', and 'drawan', meaning 'to pull or drag'. So to withdraw was literally to pull something back or away. The same old 'against, away' sense of 'with' survives in relatives like 'withstand' and 'withhold', which is worth remembering because it explains why the prefix means the opposite of what most people expect. The past tense follows the irregular pattern of 'draw' becoming 'drew', so the spelling trap is keeping that '-drew' ending and not slipping toward a regular '-drawed' form.

How the word is built

• with- (back, away)
• drew (past tense of draw, to pull)