"pull" definition, meaning, and origin

Interjection

Command used by a target shooter to request that the target be released/launched.

Origin

Verb from Middle English pullen, from Old English pullian (“to pull, draw, tug, pluck off”), of uncertain ultimate origin. Related to West Frisian pûlje (“to shell, husk”), Middle Dutch pullen (“to drink”), Middle Dutch polen (“to peel, strip”), Low German pulen (“to pick, pluck, pull, tear, strip off husks”), Icelandic púla (“to work hard, beat”). Noun from Middle English pul, pull, pulle, from the verb pullen (“to pull”).

Noun

An act of pulling (applying force toward oneself).
- He gave the hair a sharp pull and it came out.
- She took several pulls on her cigarette.
- 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],...
An attractive force which causes motion towards the source.
- The spaceship came under the pull of the gas giant.
- iron fillings drawn by the pull of a magnet
An advantage over somebody; a means of influencing.
- The hypnotist exerted a pull over his patients.
- 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:
The power to influence someone or something; sway, clout.
- I don't have a lot of pull within the company.
- 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...
- 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, →ISBN, page 126:
Any device meant to be pulled, as a lever, knob, handle, or rope.
- a zipper pull
A randomized selection from a given set.
- card pull
1. (Internet slang) A high-quality or funny recommendation by the algorithm.
  - mythical FYP pull
2. (gacha games) A player's use of a game's gacha mechanic to obtain a random reward.
Something in one's favour in a comparison or a contest; advantage.
- In weights the favourite had the pull.
Appeal or attraction.
- the pull of a movie star
The act or process of sending out a request for data from a server by a client.
- server pull
- pull technology
A journey made by rowing.
- 1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life Chapter V 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...
A contest; a struggle.
- a wrestling pull
- this wrastling pull betweene Corineus and Gogmagog, is reported to have befallen at Douer. - 1609, Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall, London: […] S[imon] S[tafford] for Iohn Iaggard, […], →OCLC:
An injury resulting from a forceful pull on a limb, etc.; strain; sprain.
- 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:

Verb

To apply a force to (an object) so that it comes toward the person or thing applying the force.
- When I give the signal, pull the rope.
- Pull your belt tight before starting off, will you?
- He put forth his hand […] and pulled her in. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 8:9:
To gather with the hand, or by drawing toward oneself; to pluck or pick (flowers, fruit, etc.).
- to pull fruit from a tree
- pull flax
- pull a finch
To attract or net; to pull in.
- 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. -...
To persuade (someone) to have sex with one.
- I pulled at the club last night.
- He's pulled that bird over there.
- Grab your coat, love, you've pulled.
To interest (someone) in dating or pursuing one (whether or not this has led to sex).
- Wow, Joyce pulls, actually. - 2025 January 7, David Willis (cartoonist), Jennifer Billingsworth (character), "Coincidence", Dumbing of Age (webcomic)
To remove or withdraw (something), especially from public circulation or availability.
- Each day, they pulled the old bread and set out fresh loaves.
- The book was due to be released today, but it was pulled at the last minute over legal concerns.
To retrieve or look up for use.
- I'll have to pull a part number for that.
- This computer file is incorrect. Can we pull the old version from your backups?
- 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!:
To obtain (a permit) from a regulatory authority.
- It's the contractor's responsibility to pull the necessary permits before starting work.
To do or perform, especially something seen as negative by the speaker.
- He regularly pulls 12-hour days, sometimes 14.
- You'll be sent home if you pull another stunt like that.
- What are you trying to pull?
To copy or emulate the actions or behaviour associated with the person or thing mentioned (with a and the name of a person, place, event, etc.).
- He pulled an Elvis and got really fat.
- They're trying to pull a Watergate on us.
To toss a frisbee with the intention of launching the disc across the length of a field.
To row.
- 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:

Forms

pulls pulling pulled no-table-tags glossary pull pullest pulledst pulleth -

Synonyms

drag tow tug yank score recall withdraw carry out complete do execute perform generate get get hold of get one's hands on lay one's hands on obtain retrieve attract draw hale heave lug

Antonyms

push repel shove eject leave rest throw

Hypernyms

move transport

Hyponyms

pull a face pull a fast one pull ahead pull away pull back pull down pull for pull in pull off pull out pull over pull rank pull round pull through pull together pull up drag haul pick pluck tow trail train weed

Derived

have a crow to pull it's not the whistle that pulls the train mispull oil pulling outpull overpull pullability pullable pull about pull a few strings pull a Homer pull a lever pull an all-nighter pull an oar pull apart pull a permit pull a rabbit from a hat pull a rabbit out of a hat pull a sickie pull aside pull a train pull at someone's heartstrings pull away the shoulder pullcord