Definition of "pull"

pull

/pʊl/

verb
third-person singular simple present pulls, present participle pulling, simple past and past participle pulled
1. (transitive, intransitive) To apply a force to (an object) so that it comes toward the person or thing applying the force.
  Quotations
  He put forth his hand […] and pulled her in.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Genesis 8:9
  Ne'er pull your hat upon your brows.
  c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene iii]
2. To gather with the hand, or by drawing toward oneself; to pluck.
3. (transitive) To attract or net; to pull in.
  Quotations
  Television, a favored source of news and information, pulls the largest share of advertising monies.
  2002, Marcella Ridlen Ray, Changing and Unchanging Face of United States Civil Society
  While the pimp can always pull a ho with his magnetism, he can never pull a nun. The nun is too in touch with her own compassionate and honest spirit to react to a spirit as negative and deceitful as that of the pimp.
  2011, Russell Simmons, Chris Morrow, Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All
4. (transitive, intransitive, UK, Ireland, slang) To persuade (someone) to have sex with one: to be 'on the pull' - looking for a sexual partner.
  Quotations
  Everyone was on the pull, determined to have a bit of a holiday fling.
  2016, Louie O'Brien, Hasta La Flip Flops!
5. (transitive) To remove (something), especially from public circulation or availability.
6. (transitive) To retrieve or generate for use.
  Quotations
  They'll go through their computer system and pull a report of all your order fulfillment records for the time period you specify.
  2006, Michael Bellomo, Joel Elad, How to Sell Anything on Amazon...and Make a Fortune!
7. (construction) To obtain (a permit) from a regulatory authority.
8. (transitive, informal) To do or perform, especially something seen as negative by the speaker.
  Quotations
  What are you trying to pull, anyway? You say you want to sell, but you have nothing to offer?! You've got some nerve, kid!
  1995, HAL Laboratory, EarthBound, Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System
  Faced with an enemy whose largest gun turrets weigh more than the entire ship, Johnston decides that running is boring, and instead pulls a full 180-degree turn and charges straight back at the attacking forces.
  2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 16:22 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?‎, archived from the original on 3 November 2022
9. (with 'a' and the name of a person, place, event, etc.) To copy or emulate the actions or behaviour that is associated with the person or thing mentioned.
10. To toss a frisbee with the intention of launching the disc across the length of a field.
11. (intransitive) To row.
  Quotations
  It had been a sort of race hitherto, and the rowers, with set teeth and compressed lips, had pulled stroke for stroke.
  1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life, Chapter VI
12. (transitive, rowing) To achieve by rowing on a rowing machine.
13. To draw apart; to tear; to rend.
  Quotations
  He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Lamentations 3:11
  If you are going to pull or chop the pork butt, take it out of the smoker when the meat is in the higher temperature range, put it in a large pan, and let it rest, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Using heavy-duty dinner forks, pull the pork butt to shreds.
  2009, Ardie A. Davis, Chef Paul Kirk, America's Best BBQ, page 57
14. (transitive) To strain (a muscle, tendon, ligament, etc.).
15. (video games, transitive, intransitive) To draw (a hostile non-player character) into combat, or toward or away from some location or target.
  Quotations
  …we had to clear a long hallway, run up half way, pull the boss mob to us, and engage.
  2003 April 9, Richard Lawson, “Monual's Willful Ignorance”, in alt.games.everquest‎ (Usenet)
  Basically buff pet, have it pull lots of mobs, shield pet, chain heal pet, have your aoe casters finish off hurt mobs once pet gets good aggro.
  2004 October 18, Stush, “Re: focus pull”, in alt.games.dark-age-of-camelot‎ (Usenet)
  This is the only thing that should get you to break off from your position, is to pull something off the healer.
  2005 August 2, Brian, “Re: How to tank Stratholme undead pulls?”, in alt.games.warcraft‎ (Usenet)
  You could also set a fire trap, pull the mob toward it, then send in your pet….
  2007 April 10, John Salerno, “Re: Managing the Command Buttons”, in alt.games.warcraft‎ (Usenet)
  Shield yourself, pull with Mind Blast if you want, or merely pull with SW:P to save mana, then wand, fear if you need to, but use the lowest rank fear.
  2008 August 18, Mark (newsgroups), “Re: I'm a priest now!”, in alt.games.warcraft‎ (Usenet)
16. (UK) To score a certain number of points in a sport.
17. (horse-racing) To hold back, and so prevent from winning.
18. (printing, dated) To take or make (a proof or impression); so called because hand presses were worked by pulling a lever.
19. (cricket, golf) To strike the ball in a particular manner. (See noun sense.)
  Quotations
  Never pull a straight fast ball to leg.
  1888, Robert Henry Lyttelton, Cricket, Chapter 2
20. (UK) To draw beer from a pump, keg, or other source.
21. (intransitive) To take a swig or mouthful of drink.
  Quotations
  Danny pulled at his beer and thought for a moment.
  1957, Air Force Magazine, volume 40, page 128
22. (rail transportation, US, of a railroad car) To pull out from a yard or station; to leave.
23. (now chiefly Scotland, England and US regional) To pluck or pick (flowers, fruit etc.).
  Quotations
  He and some of his companions one day entered a garden in the suburbs, and having indulged their appetites, desired to know what satisfaction they must make for the fruit they had pulled.
  1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […]
24. (cooking, transitive, intransitive) To repeatedly stretch taffy in order to achieve the desired stretchy texture.
25. (computing) To get the latest version of a project's source code
26. (martial arts) In practice fighting, to reduce the strength of a blow (etymology 3) so as to avoid injuring one's practice partner.
interjection
1. (sports) Command used by a target shooter to request that the target be released/launched.
noun
countable and uncountable, plural pulls
1. An act of pulling (applying force toward oneself).
  Quotations
  I found myself suddenly awaked with a violent pull upon the ring, which was fastened at the top of my box.
  1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], part I (A Voyage to Lilliput)
2. An attractive force which causes motion towards the source.
3. (figurative, by extension) An advantage over somebody; a means of influencing.
  Quotations
  Tresham's up to his eyes in dock business and town business, a regular jobmonger, he has no use for anybody who hasn't a pull.
  1944, Henry Christopher Bailey, The Queen of Spades, page 72
4. (uncountable, informal) The power to influence someone or something; sway, clout.
  Quotations
  She wants to work in the villages, and she has a lot of pull with some ministers and there she is, like a political supervisor.
  2016, Antoinette Burton, quoting Shukdev Sharma, Africa in the Indian Imagination, Duke University Press
  I have already put Matthew Williams off for a few days. He wants to see her too, but he doesn't have pull with the director.
  2017, Maggie Blake, Her Haunted Past, Book Venture Publishing LLC, page 126
  If Netflix truly cared about those of us sequestered to our homes, with our shelves of beans and bad-news-addled brains, it would release either a new season of Queer Eye or another season of the similarly soothing Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat to help us bide our time. Alas, I have no pull at Netflix, and neither seems to be coming soon.
  2020 March 27, Bettina Makalintal, “Samin Nosrat's 'Home Cooking' Podcast Will Make Your Quarantine Cooking Better”, in VICE‎, archived from the original on 2022-12-06
5. Any device meant to be pulled, as a lever, knob, handle, or rope.
6. (slang, dated) Something in one's favour in a comparison or a contest.
7. Appeal or attraction (e.g. of a movie star).
8. (Internet, uncountable) The situation where a client sends out a request for data from a server, as in server pull, pull technology
9. A journey made by rowing.
  Quotations
  As Blunt had said, the burning ship lay a good twelve miles from the Malabar, and the pull was a long and a weary one. Once fairly away from the protecting sides of the vessel that had borne them thus far on their dismal journey, the adventurers seemed to have come into a new atmosphere.
  1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life Chapter V
10. (dated) A contest; a struggle.
  Quotations
  this wrastling pull betweene Corineus and Gogmagog, is reported to have befallen at Douer.
  1609, Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall. […], new edition, London: […] B. Law, […]; Penzance, Cornwall: J. Hewett, published 1769
11. An injury resulting from a forceful pull on a limb, etc.; a strain.
  Quotations
  They used steroids to build strength but, more importantly, to recover from strains, pulls, dislocations.
  2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 162
12. (obsolete, poetic) Loss or violence suffered.
  Quotations
  Two pulls at once; / His lady banished, and a limb lopped off.
  1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene iii]
13. (colloquial) The act of drinking; a mouthful or swig of a drink.
  Quotations
  Heah , Sam Johnsing , jis' take a pull at dis bottle, an' it will make yo' feel better .
  1882, H. Elliott McBride, Well Fixed for a Rainy Day
  Sutho took a pull at his Johnny Walker and Coke and laughed that trademark laugh of his and said: `Okay. I'll pay that all right.'
  1996, Jon Byrell, Lairs, Urgers and Coat-Tuggers, Sydney: Ironbark, page 294
14. (cricket) A type of stroke by which a leg ball is sent to the off side, or an off ball to the on side; a pull shot.
  Quotations
  The pull is not a legitimate stroke, but bad cricket.
  1887, R. A. Proctor, Longman's Magazine
15. (golf) A mishit shot which travels in a straight line and (for a right-handed player) left of the intended path.
16. (printing, historical) A single impression from a handpress.
17. (printing) A proof sheet.

Definition of "pull"

pull

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interjection

noun

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