pull at
verb
pulled at; pulling at; pulls at
1
: to hold onto and pull (something) repeatedly
When she gets nervous, she pulls at her ear.
2
: to breathe in the smoke from (a cigarette, pipe, etc.)
He rocked back and forth, pulling at his pipe.
Examples of pull at in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Agents later pulled at least one person out of the SUV.
—
Todd Feurer, CBS News, 28 May 2026
Mete pulled at her arm, cautioning her not to continue.
—Ayşegül Savaş, New Yorker, 24 May 2026
On the sideline, DRC’s French head coach Sébastien Desabre pulls at his wispy white hair.
—Franklin Leonard, Vanity Fair, 14 May 2026
Standing before the painting in his New York studio, Ikezoe pointed to the top of the canvas, where faceless people pull at the udders of two cows.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for pull at
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Todd Feurer, CBS News, 28 May 2026
Mete pulled at her arm, cautioning her not to continue.
—Ayşegül Savaş, New Yorker, 24 May 2026
On the sideline, DRC’s French head coach Sébastien Desabre pulls at his wispy white hair.
—Franklin Leonard, Vanity Fair, 14 May 2026
Standing before the painting in his New York studio, Ikezoe pointed to the top of the canvas, where faceless people pull at the udders of two cows.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for pull at
Cite this Entry
“Pull at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pull%20at. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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