transitive verb
- 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.
- to draw out; pluck out; extract: to pull a tooth
- to pick or uproot: to pull carrots
- to draw apart; rip; tear: to pull a seam
- ☆ to stretch (taffy, etc.) back and forth repeatedly
- to stretch or strain to the point of injury: to pull a muscle
- ☆ Informal to put into effect; carry out; perform: to pull a raid
- Informal to hold back; restrain: to pull one's punches
- Informal
- ☆ to take (a gun, knife, etc.) from concealment so as to threaten
- to take or force off or out; remove: to pull a wheel from a car
- Dialectal to draw the entrails from (a fowl)
- Baseball, Golf to hit (the ball) and make it go to the left or, if left-handed, to the right
- Horse Racing to rein in or restrain (a horse) so as to keep it from winning
- Printing to take (a proof) on a hand press
- Rowing
- to work (an oar) by drawing it toward one
- to propel or transport by rowing
Origin:
ME pullen < OE pullian, to pluck, snatch with the fingers: ? akin to MLowG pull, a husk, shell