pull

noun

(countable) An act of pulling (applying force toward oneself).

(uncountable) An attractive force which causes motion towards the source.

(uncountable, figurative) An advantage over somebody; a means of influencing.

(uncountable, figurative, informal) The power to influence someone or something; sway, clout.

(countable) Any device meant to be pulled, as a lever, knob, handle, or rope.

(countable, figurative) A randomized selection from a given set.

(Internet slang) A high-quality or funny recommendation by the algorithm.

(gacha games) A player's use of a game's gacha mechanic to obtain a random reward.

(uncountable, figurative) Appeal or attraction.

(Internet) The act or process of sending out a request for data from a server by a client.

(countable) A journey made by rowing.

(countable) An injury resulting from a forceful pull on a limb, etc.; strain; sprain.

(countable, colloquial) A drink, especially of an alcoholic beverage; a mouthful or swig of a drink.

(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.

(golf) A mishit shot which travels in a straight line and (for a right-handed player) left of the intended path.

(printing) A proof sheet.

(figurative, slang, dated) Something in one's favour in a comparison or a contest; advantage.

(dated) A contest; a struggle.

(obsolete, poetic) Loss, misfortune, or violence suffered.

(printing, historical) A single impression from a handpress.

verb

(transitive, intransitive) To apply a force to (an object) so that it comes toward the person or thing applying the force.

To gather with the hand, or by drawing toward oneself; to pluck or pick (flowers, fruit, etc.).

(transitive) To attract or net; to pull in.

(ambitransitive, chiefly UK, Ireland, slang) To persuade (someone) to have sex with one.

(ambitransitive, US, slang) To interest (someone) in dating or pursuing one (whether or not this has led to sex).

(transitive) To remove or withdraw (something), especially from public circulation or availability.

(transitive) To retrieve or look up for use.

(construction) To obtain (a permit) from a regulatory authority.

(transitive, informal) To do or perform, especially something seen as negative by the speaker.

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.).

To toss a frisbee with the intention of launching the disc across the length of a field.

(intransitive) To row.

(transitive) To transport by rowing.

(transitive, rowing) To achieve by rowing on a rowing machine.

To draw apart; to tear; to rend.

(transitive) To strain (a muscle, tendon, ligament, etc.).

(video games, ambitransitive) To draw (a hostile non-player character) into combat, or toward or away from some location or target.

(UK) To score a certain number of points in a sport.

(horse-racing) To hold back, and so prevent from winning.

(cricket, golf) To strike the ball in a particular manner. (See noun sense.)

(UK) To draw beer from a pump, keg, or other source.

(intransitive) To take a swig or mouthful of drink.

(rail transportation, US) Of a railroad car, to pull out from a yard or station; to leave.

(transitive, intransitive) (Followed by a preposition or adverb) To drive (a vehicle) in a particular direction or to a particular place.

(transitive, law enforcement) To pull over (a driver or vehicle); to detain for a traffic stop.

(cooking, transitive, intransitive) To repeatedly stretch taffy in order to achieve the desired stretchy texture.

(computing) To retrieve source code or other material from a source control repository.

(martial arts) In practice fighting, to reduce the strength of a blow (etymology 3) so as to avoid injuring one's practice partner.

(horse racing, transitive) To impede the progress of (a horse) to prevent its winning a race.

(printing, dated) To take or make (a proof or impression); so called because hand presses were worked by pulling a lever.

Synonyms for pull

dragn drawv pluckv yankv pushv tugn attractv shovev extractv tearv town hauln rendv twistn wrenchv cloutn

Synonyms & related words for pull

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of pull — including drag, draw, pluck, yank, push, tug. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to pull

Explore words related to pull — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include outpull, overstretch, evulsion, detrude, deplume, divulsion, detrusion, unhitch. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for pull

Common synonyms for pull include drag, draw, pluck, yank, push, tug, attract, shove — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.