draft

draft, in banking, order by one party to another party to pay a stated sum to the person or firm in whose favor the draft is made. It is similar in form to the ordinary bank check. Often the drawer and the drawee of a draft are the same person. A sight draft is payable immediately on presentation to the drawee; a time draft is payable at a fixed date in the future. A draft is sometimes known as a bill of exchange. It was originally devised to give credit to a customer who intended to pay in the future, but it came to be used to pay foreign debts (see foreign exchange) because it obviated the bother, expense, and risk of transmitting money. Apparently, drafts were used in early Babylon, Egypt, and Rome, but the earliest clear instance of their use is in Genoa c.1156. Drafts are usually used in commercial transactions in which buyer and seller are distant from each other. The seller draws a draft against the buyer of his goods and sends the draft, together with shipping documents, to his bank. The bank or its agent presents the draft to the buyer for his acceptance of the obligation or for payment. If, in the case of a time draft, the buyer accepts the obligation to pay, he will often put a note to that effect, along with his signature, on the draft. Such an accepted draft is known as a trade acceptance and represents a legal commitment on the part of the buyer to pay the amount stipulated.

draft, military: see conscription; selective service.

Short-term negotiable financial instrument consisting of a written order addressed by the seller of goods to the buyer requiring the latter to pay a certain sum of money on demand or at a future time. Bills of exchange are often used in international transactions, and the holder of such a bill may redeem it in cash immediately by selling it to a bank at a discount. Bills of exchange used in domestic transactions are sometimes called drafts. Seealso promissory note.

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Draft or draught may mean:

Draught, draught beer

Flows:

• Draft, incoming flow of air to burn fuel for a boiler or engine
• Draft, bankers' acceptance, an order for the payment of money

Watercraft dimensions:

• Draft (hull), below-waterline distance
• Draft, air draft, above-waterline distance
• Draft (sail), curvature

Selection processes:

• Draft (sports)
• Draft, military conscription
• Draft (politics)

Entertainment:

• Draughts, board game a.k.a. checkers
• The Draft (band)
• The Draft (comics)
• WWE Draft, a WWE program which drafts superstars to different WWE brands.

Note on spelling

In English the word is spelled draught in some senses and draft in others. Draught beer, draught horse, draught meaning a current of air or a ship's minimum depth of water to float, and the game draughts all retain the older spelling draught. The simplified spelling draft is used for a plan or sketch, for a preliminary version of a document and for the verb meaning to write it, for an order of payment, and for military conscription (although this last meaning is not as common as in American English). In the USA the spelling is draft in all these cases.

See also

• Drafting
• Draft animal, working animal used for pulling against resisting forces
• Drafted (comics), series
• Drought