pull-up

1 of 2

noun

ˈpu̇l-ˌəp 

plural pull-ups

: an exercise in which one hangs by the hands from a support (such as a horizontal bar) and pulls oneself up until the chin is level with the support

specifically : such an exercise done with the palms facing outward compare chin-up

pull up

2 of 2

verb

pulled up; pulling up; pulls up

transitive verb

1

: to bring to a stop : halt

2

: check, rebuke

intransitive verb

1

a

: to check oneself

b

: to come to an often abrupt halt : stop

2

: to draw even with others in a race

Synonyms of pull-up

Verb

• stop
• halt
• catch
• stall
• check
• stay
• draw up
• hold up
• bring up

Examples of pull-up in a Sentence

Verb

the jockey tried to pull up the apparently injured horse

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And then coming down and just jacking up a dribble pull-up is not a good shot. —Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026

One of the Anthropic ads — a version of which will air on NBC’s Super Bowl LX telecast — spoofs an OpenAI commercial that depicts a young man doing pull-ups in a park and uses ChatGPT to create a workout plan. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026

Verb

The Children On Wednesday, May 7th, two weeks before a caseworker told Kayla Elliott about an injured baby, police pulled up to the Arcadia home. —Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026

The rest of her hair was pulled up in an undone updo, with a handful of delicately curled tendrils falling down her shoulders for extra romantic effect. —Kara Nesvig, Allure, 9 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1901, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1623, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for pull-up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup