drafty

Imagine an old farmhouse on a windy hill. If you can feel the wind slipping through cracks in the walls or under the doors, that place is drafty. It means unwanted air is getting in and making the space cold and uncomfortable. A drafty room is not necessarily damaged; it just is not sealed well enough. You might describe a poorly insulated window as drafty, or an old castle with gaps in its stone walls. In general, if there is a chilly breeze where the air should be still, this is the right word to use.

"Drafty" describes a place with noticeable, unpleasant currents of cold air. It comes from the word "draft" (spelled "draught" in British English), which originally referred to air being drawn along, like a chimney draft pulling smoke upward. When we say a space is drafty, we mean air is getting in where it should not, making the place feel cold and uncomfortable.

You will most often hear "drafty" used to describe buildings or rooms: "The old cabin was terribly drafty in the winter." It usually suggests poor insulation, gaps around windows and doors, or cracks in the walls. A drafty attic might be full of cobwebs and a biting wind.

The word is almost always used literally for physical spaces, and it suggests that the place is not closed off well enough to keep the cold air out. Whether it is a house that needs better weatherstripping or a large hall that feels impossible to heat, "drafty" points to those unwanted currents of air that steal away warmth. So if you find yourself in a drafty spot, you will probably reach for a sweater or start looking for the gap that is letting the air in.