pull rank
idiom
: to use one's high position in a society, organization, group, etc., to order someone to do something or to get special treatment or privileges
He's their boss, but he doesn't like to pull rank (on them) if he can avoid it.
Examples of pull rank in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When a 16-year-old wants to take a free kick in the 88th minute of the game, a senior player would usually pull rank.
—
Richard Amofa, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
Salazar — sweet, brainy, introverted yet loquacious — doesn’t take it too personally when classic rock gods or their copyright enforcers pull rank.
—Morgan Enos, Rolling Stone, 17 Aug. 2024
Raffael, who butchers his English, and Claudia, quick to pull rank, have a weekly assignation behind Paul’s back; Paul and Leo run a drug cartel with Raffael’s ambassadorial assistance.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2023
Indeed, he is unflatteringly portrayed at times as someone who loses his temper and likes to pull rank.
—Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 10 Jan. 2023
And for generations of university students worldwide, Godard has been a figure to be deployed as a badge of honor when attempting to establish cultural credentials or pull rank—rendering as passé the likes of John Ford, Orson Welles, Ingmar Bergman and Akira Kurosawa.
—David Mermelstein, WSJ, 13 Sep. 2022
To avoid conflict, and to pull rank, the Queen withdraws with her red box of official government papers.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2022
Car campers may pay, but hikers just spread out a groundsheet and a sleeping bag, and the spot is theirs; only a bear can pull rank.
—Nicholas Kristof, National Geographic, 8 Sep. 2020
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Richard Amofa, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
Salazar — sweet, brainy, introverted yet loquacious — doesn’t take it too personally when classic rock gods or their copyright enforcers pull rank.
—Morgan Enos, Rolling Stone, 17 Aug. 2024
Raffael, who butchers his English, and Claudia, quick to pull rank, have a weekly assignation behind Paul’s back; Paul and Leo run a drug cartel with Raffael’s ambassadorial assistance.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2023
Indeed, he is unflatteringly portrayed at times as someone who loses his temper and likes to pull rank.
—Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 10 Jan. 2023
And for generations of university students worldwide, Godard has been a figure to be deployed as a badge of honor when attempting to establish cultural credentials or pull rank—rendering as passé the likes of John Ford, Orson Welles, Ingmar Bergman and Akira Kurosawa.
—David Mermelstein, WSJ, 13 Sep. 2022
To avoid conflict, and to pull rank, the Queen withdraws with her red box of official government papers.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2022
Car campers may pay, but hikers just spread out a groundsheet and a sleeping bag, and the spot is theirs; only a bear can pull rank.
—Nicholas Kristof, National Geographic, 8 Sep. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Pull rank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pull%20rank. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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