pull Hear it!

pull definition

pull (po̵ol)

transitive verb

  1. to exert force or influence on so as to cause to move toward or after the source of the force; drag, tug, draw, attract, etc.
    1. to draw out; pluck out; extract to pull a tooth
    2. to pick or uproot to pull carrots
  2. to draw apart; rip; tear to pull a seam
  3. ☆ to stretch (taffy, etc.) back and forth repeatedly
  4. to stretch or strain to the point of injury to pull a muscle
  5. Informal to put into effect; carry out; perform to pull a raid
  6. Informal to hold back; restrain to pull one's punches
  7. Informal
    1. ☆ to take (a gun, knife, etc.) from concealment so as to threaten
    2. to take or force off or out; remove to pull a wheel from a car
  8. Dialectal to draw the entrails from (a fowl)
  9. Baseball, Golf to hit (the ball) and make it go to the left or, if left-handed, to the right
  10. Horse Racing to rein in or restrain (a horse) so as to keep it from winning
  11. Printing to take (a proof) on a hand press
  12. Rowing
    1. to work (an oar) by drawing it toward one
    2. to propel or transport by rowing

Etymology: ME pullen < OE pullian, to pluck, snatch with the fingers: ? akin to MLowG pull, a husk, shell

intransitive verb

  1. to exert force in or for dragging, tugging, or attracting something
  2. to take a deep draft of a drink or puff at a cigarette, etc.
  3. to be capable of being pulled
  4. to move or drive a vehicle (away, ahead, around, out, etc.)
  5. Football to run behind, and parallel to, the line of scrimmage, as to provide blocking for a ballcarrier: said of an offensive lineman

noun

  1. the act, force, or result of pulling; specif.,
    1. a dragging, tugging, attracting, etc.
    2. the act or an instance of rowing
    3. a drink
    4. a puff at a cigarette, etc.
    5. a difficult, continuous effort, as in climbing
    6. the force needed to move a weight, trigger, etc., measured in pounds
  2. something to be pulled, as the handle of a drawer, etc.
  3. Informal
    1. influence or special advantage
    2. drawing power; appeal

Related Forms:

pull Idioms

pull a face

pull apart

to find fault with; criticize

pull down

  1. to tear down, demolish, or overthrow
  2. to degrade; humble
  3. to reduce
  4. Informal to get (a specified wage, grade, etc.)

pull for

Informal
to cheer on, or hope for success of

pull in

  1. to arrive
  2. to draw in or hold back
  3. Slang to arrest and take to police headquarters

pull off

Informal to bring about, accomplish, or perform

pull oneself together

to collect one's faculties; regain one's poise, courage, etc.

pull out

  1. ☆ to depart
  2. ☆ to withdraw or retreat
  3. ☆ to escape from a contract, responsibility, etc.
  4. Aeron. to level out from a dive or landing approach

pull over

to drive (a vehicle) to or toward the curb

pull through

Informal to get through or over (an illness, difficulty, etc.)

pull up

  1. to uproot
  2. to bring or come to a stop
    1. to drive (a vehicle) to a specified place
    2. to make (an aircraft) nose up sharply
  3. to check or rebuke

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
pull Synonyms

pull

n.

  1. The act of pulling

    tow, drag, haul, jerk, twitch, wrench, extraction, drawing, rending, tearing, uprooting, weeding, row, paddle; snake*, yank*.

  2. Exerted force

    work, strain, tug; see strength 1.

  3. *Influence

    leverage, sway, weight, authority; see influence 2.


pull

v.

  1. To exert force so as to move

    draw, drag, tug, haul, tow, lug, trail, attract, lure, stretch, strain, wrench, yank, tear, rend; see also draw 1.

  2. To remove by pulling

    pick, extract, uproot, pluck out; see draw 1, remove 1.

  3. To incline

    slope, tend, move toward; see lean 1.

pull is the broad, general term of this list, meaning to exert force so as to cause to move toward or after the source of the force; draw suggests a smoother, more even motion than pullhe drew his sword from its scabbard; drag implies the slow pulling of something heavy, connoting great resistance in the thing pulled she dragged the desk across the floor; tug suggests strenuous, often intermittent effort in pulling but does not necessarily connote success in moving the object I tugged at the rope to no avail; haul implies sustained effort in transporting something heavy, often mechanically to haul furniture in a truck; tow implies pulling by means of a rope or cable to tow a stalled automobile


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

pull Usage Examples

Object

  • plug: He said that she pulled the plug on the first referral.

Converse of object

  • exert: The kingdom has long exerted a pull on the Western imagination.

Preposition: at

  • heartstrings: Bear knows how to tell a tale and pull at those heartstrings while still delivering a thrill every now and again.

Preposition: into

  • driveway: Pursued into the Hollywood suburbs, he pulls into a secluded driveway and stumbles on a mansion exuding a dilapidated grandeur.

Preposition: over

  • bulge: Pull over a small bulge then climb the most direct line possible to the top of the crag.

Adjective modifier

  • gravitational: The existence of the dark halo is inferred from its gravitational pull on the visible matter.

Adjective complement

  • taut: The back must be pulled as taut as possible.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • through: In hospital he was in a coma for a week, his family hoped he would pull through.

Followed by a transitive particle

  • off: I'm missing out on seeing them pull off new tricks.

Particle object: up_obj

  • drawbridge: This is not the time to pull up the drawbridge.

Particle object: off_obj

  • heist: The question is Burdett suave enough to pull off this grand heist while Stan is looking?

Preposition: in

  • punter: Lenders know that itâs a low interest rate that pulls in the punters so they bust a gut to out do their opposition.

Preposition: of

  • gravity: Rub along with friction and feel the attraction of magnets and the pull of gravity.
pull usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

pull quotes

Crouch, swivel, tug, pull and plop.

-O'Brien,Virginia

pull quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"pull." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/pull>

APA Style

pull. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/pull

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