drawback

Definitions

draw + back = 'pulled back.' It began as a customs term: money 'drawn back' (refunded) on goods that were re-exported. That accounting sense faded, but the image of something pulling against you stayed — a drawback is the feature that drags an otherwise-good option in the wrong direction: the catch, the downside, the 'but.'

Why It Means This

The surprise is that drawback once meant a refund — a literal sum of money 'drawn back' from customs duty. The modern meaning kept only the direction: whatever pulls back against the advantages. So unlike a flaw (which is intrinsic damage), a drawback is relative — it's the cost weighed against the benefit.

Common Collocations

• 1.main drawback主要缺点
• 2.significant drawback显著缺点
• 3.only drawback唯一缺点
• 4.a major drawback重大缺点
• 5.the drawback of……的缺点

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The main drawback of the plan is its high cost.

• 2.

  Living downtown is convenient, but noise is a real drawback.

• 3.

  The only drawback to the job is the long commute.

Easily Confused

drawback vs disadvantage — nearly synonyms, but a drawback points to one specific catch in something otherwise worth choosing (the only drawback is the price), while disadvantage is broader and more neutral, often comparative (at a disadvantage, the disadvantages of city life). You'd say 'the drawback of this phone is battery life,' not 'the drawback of being poor.'