pull 1 of 2

1
as in to haul
to cause to follow by applying steady force on a team of horses pulling a heavy wagon

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3
as in to stretch
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure lift the crate carefully, or you'll pull a muscle

Synonyms & Similar Words

pull

2 of 2

noun

1
as in tug
the act or an instance of applying force on something so that it moves in the direction of the force I gave the door such a pull that when it suddenly opened, I nearly fell backwards

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pull
Verb
During the event, Riley wore black boots, a black dress, held a black and gold bag, and rocked a pair of massive gold hoops to pull it all together. Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 3 Feb. 2023 As ghosts, fate and the sheer power of true love pull Nicholas and Isabel together, so too does life threaten to tear them apart. Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Jan. 2023
Noun
There is a magnetic pull from Portugal to United, and Amorim’s move to Manchester strengthened that connection. Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 22 May 2025 Use it to review pull requests, write unit tests, generate UI variations or polish copy. Kunal Abichandani, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for pull
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pull
Verb
  • The operation is massive: participants haul wagons and horses up to Nevada from all over California and coordinate nightly rest stops in shopping centers, ranches, even neighborhoods.
    Tina Li, Sacbee.com, 7 June 2025
  • Efforts to haul him in for oversight hit a brick wall.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • The Mackenzie River Delta is a maze of lakes and waterways stretching hundreds of square miles.
    Gavin John, New York Times, 31 May 2025
  • Replenish mulches to stretch the time between waterings. 39.
    Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 May 2025
Noun
  • The catchy, melodious songs are carefully curated to tug at heartstrings, with lyrics that reflect similar memories and moments in one’s life.
    Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
  • Netflix has won out in a tug of war for Richard Linklater‘s Breathless homage Nouvelle Vague after its Cannes Film Festival debut in the competition.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 26 May 2025
Noun
  • In a city like New York, defined by its unmatched diversity across race, culture, and socioeconomic background, lasting change requires collaboration between institutions with different influence levers.
    Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • An important early influence was an uncle, Paul Saville, an artist who also taught at a private school in Oxford.
    Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Noun
  • Sam Bennett, who scored twice in Florida’s Game 1 loss, capitalized on the man advantage with the game’s first goal.
    Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 7 June 2025
  • For Catalan producers, international co-productions are not only an advantage but a necessity.
    Jamie Lang, Variety, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • Over the Great Plains, the high-level flow of winds has been pushing the smoke south, and shifting upper-level winds from the west will drag the smoke over the eastern states, according to The Weather Channel.
    Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 5 June 2025
  • The phone call between Trump and Putin came as the war, which has dragged on for nearly 3.5 years, shows no signs of abating despite mounting pressure for a diplomatic breakthrough.
    Nik Popli, Time, 4 June 2025
Verb
  • Even though waxing is tolerable, having a numbing cream applied over the hair and skin about 20 minutes before the wax is applied is supposed to help manage the discomfort of having the wax yanked off.
    India Espy-Jones, Essence, 3 June 2025
  • Ventura’s stylist and friend, Deonte Nash, recalled a pushy Combs yanking Ventura away from her 29th birthday celebration in 2015.
    Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2025
Verb
  • While the brand quickly became synonymous with the 1990s UK music scene—having Liam Gallagher sport them on-stage certainly didn’t hurt—the aughts saw the business’s fortunes recede and its manufacturing go overseas.
    Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 2 June 2025
  • ISPs have frequently pointed out that terminating customer accounts would hurt people using the same account as someone accused of piracy.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 2 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pull.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pull. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on pull

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!