pull off

verb

pulled off; pulling off; pulls off

transitive verb

: to carry out despite difficulties : accomplish successfully against odds

the team pulled off an upset

Synonyms

• fulfill
• accomplish
• perform
• fulfil
• execute
• achieve
• do
• carry out
• make
• carry off
• implement
• put through

Examples of pull off in a Sentence

the rebel forces pulled off a surprisingly successful offensive against the better equipped government troops

Recent Examples on the Web

For a team battling a relentless storyline of seeking a fast start and a different feeling entering the first game of the season, pulling off a victory while Joe Burrow came away healthy (barely) was an important result. —Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025

Through the Mine—Explore the Middleton Mine as the team highlights the risks, challenges, and practical elements to pull off this incredible action sequence. —Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025

Criminals have pulled off elaborate heists of million-dollar vehicles, sometimes smuggling them out of their country of origin, retrofitting them with fake paperwork, and reselling them on the international market. —Stayton Bonner, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2025

Atlanta pulled off a stunning comeback in Match 2, capped by Billy Horschel's clutch 17-foot birdie putt, which sealed a 4-3 victory. —Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pull off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff