26984 words

pulls

38 definitions • 74 examples
1
to move something towards yourself, sometimes with great physical effort:

Examples:

Could you help me move this bookcase over there? You pull and I'll push.
He pulled the chair away from the desk.
He pulled the heavy box across the floor to the door.
[ + obj + adj ] He pulled the door open.
The car was pulling a caravan.
pull something down The sun was so strong we had to pull down the blinds.
pull something out She pulled out the drawer.
2
to take something out of or away from a place, especially using physical effort:

Examples:

pull something off He pulled off his sweater.
pull something out The dentist pulled both teeth out.
pull something up I spent the morning pulling up the weeds in the flowerbeds.
3
to remove or stop something that was going to be published or broadcast, especially because it is found to be offensive or not accurate:

Examples:

When officials realized the cultural gaffe, the company pulled the ad and apologized.
4
in sport, to take a player out of a game:

Examples:

The coach pulled his starting pitcher with one out in the fifth inning.
The team decided to pull the goalie with one minute left to bring on an extra attacker.
5
to move in the stated direction:

Examples:

pull ahead During the last lap of the race one of the runners began to pull ahead.
pull out of We waved as the train pulled out of the station.
pull back Our armies are pulling back on all fronts.
6
to take hold of something and use effort to move your body forwards or up:

Examples:

He put his hands on the side of the pool and pulled himself out of the water.
7
to attract a person or people:

Examples:

pull (in) the crowds The show has certainly pulled (in) the crowds.
8
to succeed in starting a sexual relationship with someone:

Examples:

He certainly knows how to pull women.
Did Tracy pull at the nightclub last night?
9
to injure a muscle by stretching it too much:

Examples:

I pulled a muscle in my back lifting some drawers.
10

Examples:

The gang that pulled the bank robbery were all arrested.
pull something on someone No one's gonna pull that kind of trick on me!
11
to get information from the internet, after asking or searching for it:

Examples:

12
the act of pulling something towards yourself:

Examples:

give something a pull Give the rope a hard pull to make sure it's secure.
13
something that you pull to make something work or to open something:

Examples:

14
something that attracts people:

Examples:

"How can we persuade people to come to the meeting?" "A glass of wine is quite a good pull."
15
the physical or emotional power to attract something:

Examples:

The movie's all-star cast should give it a lot of pull.
16

Examples:

He's still got quite a bit of pull in the club - he could probably get you elected.
17
in cricket, an attacking hit in which the batter (= the player trying to hit the ball) moves the bat (= stick) horizontally and hits the ball to the left side for a right-handed batter or to the right side for a left-handed batter:

Examples:

A beautiful pull sent the ball speeding across the ground to the square leg boundary.
She was an excellent batter, particularly fond of pulls, hooks, and cut shots.
18
to move something toward yourself, sometimes with great physical effort:

Examples:

[ I ] Could you help me move this bookcase over there? You pull and I’ll push.
[ T ] Alice lay down and pulled a blanket over her.
[ I ] The little girl pulled at his sleeve (= moved it slightly and repeatedly toward her).
19
to take something out of or away from a place, esp. using physical effort:

Examples:

[ M ] The dentist had to pull two of my teeth out.
[ M ] I spent the morning pulling up weeds in the garden.
She’s asking companies to pull their ads from the program.
20
Someone who pulls a weapon on you takes it from a hidden place and points it at you.
21
to hold or be attached to the front of something and cause it to move with you:

Examples:

[ T ] The car was pulling a trailer.
[ I ] Elise sat on the sled while Carol pulled.
22
to move or move something in the stated direction:

Examples:

Her car pulled out into traffic.
The sun was so strong we had to pull down the blinds.
He pulled off his wet clothes and laid them out to dry.
23
If you pull up a chair, you move a chair so you can sit with other people:

Examples:

Pull up a chair and join us.
24
to move your body or a part of your body:

Examples:

[ I ] He started yelling at the referee and had to be pulled away by teammates.
[ T always + adv/prep ] He pulled his arm out just as the doors were closing.
[ T always + adv/prep ] She pulled herself up onto the rock.
25
to operate a device that makes a piece of equipment work:

Examples:

She took out a quarter, dropped it into the slot machine, and pulled the lever.
26
to attract a person or people:

Examples:

She was able to pull more votes than the other candidates.
[ M ] The networks are grabbing for any edge that pulls in viewers.
27
to injure a muscle by stretching it too much:

Examples:

Marie pulled a hamstring and couldn’t play in the finals.
28
to perform an action that is dishonest or intended to deceive:

Examples:

Mikey was pulling his usual stunt of feeding most of his lunch to the cat.
Why would you try to pull a trick/prank like that on her?
29
influence, esp. with important people:

Examples:

30
to stop providing something or take something away from someone or something:

Examples:

The first step is to pull the advertising for the defective product.
pull sth from/out of sth Candies with more than .2 parts per million of lead would be pulled from stores.
Elderly savers began to pull their money out of the accounts.
31

Examples:

If it doesn't pull big audiences, what's the point of the festival?
A programme with a few star names is sure to pull the crowds.
32
to do something unexpected that improves a difficult situation:

Examples:

If they want to survive the crisis, they'll need to pull something out of the hat pretty quickly.
The company's in real trouble, and they don't seem to have any rabbits to pull out of the hat.
33
to stop an activity from continuing:

Examples:

If costs rise any higher, we'll have to pull the plug on the whole project.
34
to use your personal influence to make things happen:

Examples:

She may be retired, but she can still pull strings in the city.
Don't you know anyone who can pull a few strings for us?
35
to be the person who is in control of things:

Examples:

He's decided to put in the money himself, rather than let the investors pull the strings
Don't ask me. I'm not the one who's pulling the strings.
36
to work as hard as other people or as hard as expected and needed:

Examples:

Everyone is expected to pull their weight on this project.
37
influence or power over other people:

Examples:

These people have a lot of pull in government circles.
I'm afraid I don't have that much pull with the management.
38
the ability to attract people:

Examples:

Money has a strong pull for institutions and individuals alike.
He tried teaching, but the pull of scientific discovery was greater than that of the academic world.

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