haul

1 of 2

verb

hauled; hauling; hauls

transitive verb

1
a
: to cause (something) to move by pulling or drawing : to exert traction on
haul a wagon
b
: to obtain or move by or as if by hauling
was hauled to parties night after night by his wife
c
: to transport in a vehicle : cart
The cattle were hauled to market.
trucks hauling freight
2
: to change the course of (a ship) especially so as to sail closer to the wind
3
: to bring before an authority for interrogation or judgment : hale
haul traffic violators into court

intransitive verb

1
: to exert traction : pull
haul back on the reins
2
: to move along : proceed
About three o'clock we hauled into Moonridge.Kenneth Clark
The bull hauled back for another lunge …F. B. Gipson
3
: to furnish transportation
a nominal charge for hauling
4
of the wind : shift

haul

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: the act or process of hauling (see haul entry 1) : pull
The rope stood up under the strain of the haul.
b
: a device for pulling or carting something : a device for hauling
2
a
: the result of an effort to obtain, collect, or win
the burglar's haul
b
: the quantity of fish taken in a single draft of a net
3
a
: the act or process of transporting something in a vehicle : transportation by hauling
… a rail haul meant that several hundred expensive … cars would have to be bought.N. M. Clark
b
: the length or course of a transportation route
a long haul
c
: a quantity transported : load
a haul of lumber
Phrases
haul ass
informal + impolite
: to move quickly
You'd better haul ass or you'll miss your flight.
… if you get the call from the RuPaul's Drag Race casting team, you need to haul ass down to the Learning Annex and enroll in as many sewing classes as your fingers can take.Coleman Spilde
… I'm printing this thing out and I'm supposed to have left already 20 minutes ago. I literally pull it out of the laser printer hot, put a clip on it, and shove it in a gym bag and haul ass to the airport.James Cameron, quoted at The Ringer

Examples of haul in a Sentence

Verb They hauled the boat up onto the beach. The car was hauled away to the junkyard. We used buckets to haul water up from the river. She hauled herself to her feet and limped home. I'm tired of hauling this heavy camera around with me. The prisoner was hauled away in handcuffs. They hauled her off to court. The cattle were hauled by rail. The company has a fleet of trucks that are used to haul freight. Noun each haul of the rope Authorities seized the drugs in one of the biggest drug hauls in the history of the county. The kids always collect a substantial haul of candy on Halloween. It's just a short haul from our cabin to the beach.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Offering the best value for the most function to a plurality of American drivers, a minivan can cart seven passengers or more in comfort if not style, haul more cargo than many larger trucks, and do so for a sticker price roughly a quarter cheaper than competing options. Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2024 The deployments are too far and too long to haul air, and the tasks too strenuous for a basic mask. Alan Neuhauser, Axios, 16 Sep. 2024
Noun
The Harris campaign announced earlier this month a total $361 million August haul from campaign donations joint with the Democratic National Committee and fundraising committees. Rebecca Picciotto, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2024 The historic awards haul represents a huge win for FX and parent company Disney for a pricey series that took nearly 10 years to bring to fruition and once looked like a very uncertain bet. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for haul 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'haul.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English halen to pull, from Anglo-French haler, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch halen to pull; akin to Old English geholian to obtain

First Known Use

Verb

1581, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1670, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of haul was in 1581

Dictionary Entries Near haul

Cite this Entry

“Haul.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haul. Accessed 6 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

haul

1 of 2 verb
1
: to pull or drag with effort : draw
haul a cart
2
: to obtain or move by or as if by hauling
3
: to transport in a vehicle
4
: to bring before an authority : hale
hauled him into court
hauler noun

haul

2 of 2 noun
1
: the act or process of hauling : pull
2
a
: an amount collected : take
a burglar's haul
b
: the amount of fish taken in a single drawing of a net
3
: the distance over which a load is hauled
a long haul
Etymology

Verb

Middle English halen "to pull," from early French haler (same meaning); of Germanic origin — related to hale entry 2

More from Merriam-Webster on haul

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!