Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: SPORT

Language: Old English
Origin: pullian


1 verb
pull1 S1 W1

move something towards you

[intransitive and transitive] to use your hands to make something or someone move towards you or in the direction that your hands are moving [≠ push]:
Mom! Davey's pulling my hair!
pull something open/shut
She pulled open the door and hurried inside.


[transitive] to use force to take something from the place where it is fixed or held:
She has to have two teeth pulled.
pull something out/off/away etc
Vicky had pulled the arm off her doll.

make something follow you

[transitive] to be attached to something or hold something and make it move behind you in the direction you are going:
a tractor pulling a trailer

take something out

He pulled out his wallet and said 'let me pay'.
Ben pulled a pen from his pocket.


[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to put on or take off a piece of clothing, usually quickly
pull on/off/up/down etc
He pulled off his damp shirt.

move your body

a) [intransitive,transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move your body or part of your body away from someone or something
pull something away/free
She tried to pull her hand free, but it was held fast.
pull something out of/from something
She struggled fiercely, trying to pull her arm out of his grasp.
pull away/back
She pulled away from him.

pull yourself up/to your feet etc

to hold onto something and use your strength to move your body towards it:
Benny pulled himself up from the floor with difficulty.


[transitive]MI to injure one of your muscles by stretching it too much during physical activity [= strain]:
Paul pulled a muscle trying to lift the freezer.

pull strings

to secretly use your influence with important people in order to get what you want or to help someone else:
Francis pulled strings to get him out of trouble.

pull the/somebody's strings

to control something or someone, especially when you are not the person who is supposed to be controlling them:
It was widely believed that Montagu was secretly pulling the strings behind the prime minister.


The gang have pulled another bank robbery.
He was trying to pull a fast one (=deceive you) when he told you he'd paid.
pull a stunt/trick/joke
Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!

pull somebody's leg

to tell someone something that is not true, as a joke:
I haven't won, have I? You're pulling my leg.

pull the other one (it's got bells on)

British English spoken used to tell someone that you think they are joking or not telling the truth:
Your dad's a racing driver? Pull the other one!


[transitive] to move a control such as a switch, lever, or trigger towards you to make a piece of equipment work:
She raised the gun, and pulled the trigger.

pull the curtains/blinds

DH to open or close curtains or blinds:
It was already getting dark so he pulled the curtains.

crowd/votes etc

Muhammad Ali can still pull the crowds.


[transitive] to attract or influence someone or their thoughts or feelings:
The city's reputation for a clean environment has pulled new residents from other states.

sexually attract

[intransitive and transitive] British English spoken to attract someone in order to have sex with them or spend the evening with them:
He knew he could pull any girl he wanted.

stop event

[transitive] to stop a planned event from taking place:
They pulled the concert.

pull somebody's licence

informal to take away someone's licence to do something, especially to drive a car, because they have done something wrong

stop a vehicle

[intransitive and transitive] to drive a vehicle somewhere and stop; to stop somewhere
pull something into/towards/down etc something
She pulled the car into a side street.



something is like pulling teeth

used to say that it is very difficult or unpleasant to persuade someone to do something:
Getting him to do his homework is like pulling teeth.


[transitive] British EnglishDF to get beer out of a barrel by pulling a handle:
The barman laughed and began to pull a couple of pints.

pull a punch

to deliberately hit someone with less force than you could do, so that it hurts less

➔ not pull any punches

at punch2 (6)


[intransitive and transitive]DS to hit the ball in cricket, golf, or baseball so that it does not go straight but moves to one side

row a boat

[intransitive and transitive]TTWTTW to make a boat move by using oars

➔ pull/make a face

at face1 (2)

; ➔ pull your finger out

at finger1 (12)

; ➔ pull rank (on somebody)

at rank1 (5)

; ➔ pull the rug (out) from under somebody's feet

at rug (3)

; ➔ pull the plug (on something)

at plug1 (5)

➔ pull your socks up

at sock1 (3)

➔ pull your weight

at weight1 (12)

➔ pull the wool over somebody's eyes

at wool (4)

pull ahead

phrasal verb
TT if one vehicle pulls ahead of another, it gets in front of it by moving faster:
Schumacher pulled ahead of Montoya as the two drivers approached the first corner of the race.

pull apart

phrasal verb

pull something ↔ apart

to separate something into pieces:
Pull the meat apart with two forks.

pull somebody ↔ apart

to make the relationships between people in a group bad or difficult:
His drinking pulled the family apart.

pull something ↔ apart

to carefully examine or criticize something:
The selection committee pulled each proposal apart.

pull somebody/something ↔ apart

to separate people or animals when they are fighting:
The fight ended only when the referee pulled the two players apart.
5 if something pulls apart, it breaks into pieces when you pull on it

pull at/on something

phrasal verb
1 to take hold of something and pull it several times:
Mary was pulling nervously at her hair.
2 to take smoke from a pipe or cigarette into your lungs:
He pulled hard on the cigarette.
3DFD to take a long drink from a bottle or glass

pull away

phrasal verb
1TT to start to drive away from a place where you had stopped:
He waved as he pulled away.
2TTDS to move ahead of a competitor by going faster or being more successful
pull away from
Nkoku is pulling away from the other runners.

pull back

phrasal verb
1 to decide not to do or become involved in something
pull back from
In the end, he pulled back from financing the film.
2 to get out of a bad situation or dangerous place, or to make someone else do this
pull back from
Many banks are pulling back from international markets.
pull somebody ↔ back
They are preparing to pull back their forces.

pull something ↔ back

British English if a team that is losing pulls back a goal or some points, it succeeds in scoring a goal or some points:
Our play improved and we pulled back two goals.

pull down

phrasal verb

pull something ↔ down

TBC to destroy something or make it stop existing:
My old school was pulled down.

pull down something

to earn a particular amount of money:
Real estate stocks pulled down total returns of 35.7 percent.

pull somebody down

to make someone less successful, happy, or healthy:
Her problems have really pulled her down.

pull down a menu

TD to make a computer program show you a list of the things it can do

pull for somebody/something

phrasal verb
informal to encourage a person or team to succeed:
The crowd were pulling for me to do well.

pull in

phrasal verb
1TTC if a driver pulls in, they move to the side of the road and stop:
She pulled in to let the ambulance pass.
2TTT if a train pulls in, it arrives at a station [≠ pull out]

pull somebody/something ↔ in

to attract business, money, people etc:
a publicity stunt to pull in the crowds

pull in something

informalBEW if you pull in a lot of money, you earn it

pull somebody ↔ in

SCP if a police officer pulls someone in, they take them to a police station because they think that person may have done something wrong

pull off

phrasal verb

pull something ↔ off

informal to succeed in doing something difficult:
The goalkeeper pulled off six terrific saves.

pull off (something)

to drive a car off a road in order to stop, or to turn into a smaller road:
We pulled off the road to get some food.

pull on something

phrasal verb
to pull at something

pull out

phrasal verb
a) TTC to drive onto a road from another road or from where you have stopped:
Don't pull out! There's something coming.
b) TTC to drive over to a different part of the road in order to get past a vehicle in front of you:
I pulled out to overtake a bus.
2TTT if a train pulls out, it leaves a station [≠ pull in]
3 to stop doing or being involved in something, or to make someone do this:
McDermott pulled out with an injury at the last minute.
pull out of
They are trying to pull out of the agreement.
pull somebody out of something
He threatened to pull his son out of the team.
4 to get out of a bad situation or dangerous place, or to make someone or something do this:
Jim saw that the firm was going to be ruined, so he pulled out.
pull somebody/something ↔ out
Most of the troops have been pulled out.
pull out of
when the country was still pulling out of a recession

➔ pull out all the stops

at stop2 (7)

pull over

phrasal verb
TTC to drive to the side of the road and stop your car, or to make someone else do this:
The policeman signalled to him to pull over.
pull somebody/something ↔ over
He pulled the car over.
A cop pulled him over and gave him a speeding ticket.

pull (somebody) through

phrasal verb
1 to stay alive after you have been very ill or badly injured, or to help someone do this:
His injuries are severe but he's expected to pull through.

➔ bring (somebody) through

at bring
2 to succeed in doing something very difficult, or to help someone to do this:
He relied on his experience to pull him through.

pull together

phrasal verb
1 if a group of people pull together, they all work hard to achieve something:
If we all pull together, we'll finish on time.

pull yourself together

to force yourself to stop behaving in a nervous, frightened, or uncontrolled way:
With an effort Mary pulled herself together.

pull something together

to improve something by organizing it more effectively:
We need an experienced manager to pull the department together.

pull up

phrasal verb
1TTC to stop the vehicle that you are driving:
He pulled up in front of the gates.

pull up a chair/stool etc

to get a chair, etc and sit down next to someone who is already sitting

pull somebody up

especially British English to stop someone who is doing something wrong and tell them you do not approve
pull somebody up on
I felt I had to pull her up on her lateness.

➔ pull somebody up short

at short2 (7)
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