pulling

verb

present participle of pull
1
as in hauling
to cause to follow by applying steady force on a team of horses pulling a heavy wagon

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in prying
to draw out by force or with effort the dentist had to struggle to pull the tooth

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in stretching
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure lift the crate carefully, or you'll pull a muscle

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 pulling The key to pulling it off was close collaboration with his department heads and lead actor to make sure James’ arc was clearly mapped out, both visually and emotionally. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2026 There were slides, there was a demo everyone loved, and then, a few quarters later, someone stopped pulling the usage numbers and the whole thing faded. — Amirtha Saminathan, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026 Five months after pulling back from most of its Los Angeles soundstage business, production services company Quixote is selling much of its equipment operation. — Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026 Hiding Reinhart’s naturally thick hair under the wigs required multiple steps and lots of pulling. — Jesa Marie Calaor, Allure, 23 Sep. 2026 Additionally, bodycam video from Austin police officers who responded shows officers assisting him out of the vehicle rather than pulling him out, contradicting Goldfinch's claim. — Louis Casiano , Brooke Taylor, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026 Remove any bones by pulling them at a 45 degree angle toward the head with clean tweezers. — Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 18 Sep. 2026 Later, the Sagittarius Moon squares the Virgo Sun, pulling us between possibility and practicality. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026 The locomotive pulling three tanker cars will support firefighting operations, Cal Fire said. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulling
  1. hauling
  2. prying
  3. stretching
  4. dragging
  5. yanking
  6. straining
  7. tugging
  8. extracting
Verb
  • There, the couple’s daughter, Amy Johnson, explained that her parents are fighting their mother’s pancreatic cancer and that the luggage-hauling job is real.
    — David K. Li, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026
  • That's a lot of screen for a vehicle whose primary job is still hauling stuff.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of hauling
Verb
  • Davidson was thrust into a reality-TV world of prying paparazzi and untold media scrutiny.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Accessing the internals requires prying off the PC’s rubber feet, which are glued over the screws that hold the detachable bottom of the case in place.
    — Michael Justin Allen Sexton, PC Magazine, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of prying
Verb
  • The nor'easter brought severe wind and heavy rain across the Northeast Saturday and Sunday, with the storms stretching from Maine down to New York.
    — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The fuel price hike prompted a series of protests stretching from Idlib – the interim government’s base – to Aleppo and Damascus.
    — Taylor Luck, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of stretching
Verb
  • Both buyers and sellers remain trapped in a wait and see stance, further dragging on a US housing market that has been stagnant for nearly four years.
    — , CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
  • In October 2022, Joseph Ancona, 20, was killed in the Columbus Circle station when his bag was caught in a door, dragging him onto the tracks before he was fatally struck by the train, FOX 5 New York reported at the time.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of dragging
Verb
  • Sanders made field goals of 33, 51 and 52 yards, rebounding after yanking a 54-yard attempt short and left.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Once the drop trap — a simple wire cage triggered by yanking on a cord — is set up with an enticing mix of sardines and shards of roast chicken on a cardboard tray inside, everyone moves out of sight behind massive logs a few yards away.
    — Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of yanking
Verb
  • Some medicines have more than tripled in price, further straining Iranians' finances seven months into the country's war with the United States and Israel.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The war in Iran has challenged Gulf energy infrastructure, straining exports from key producers and pushing Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar to try and find alternate ways to export their crude and LNG.
    — Emma Graham, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of straining
Verb
  • The sweet gallery opens with Rocki tugging at a large wig placed on her head as Rihanna can be heard laughing in the background.
    — Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 27 Sep. 2026
  • WashWise recommends holding the spray 8 to 12 inches away, applying a light mist and smoothing or gently tugging the fabric to release wrinkles.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of tugging
Verb
  • Refiners turn oil discarded by restaurants and other waste fats into transportation fuel, extracting additional value from crops already grown and oils that have already served their original purpose.
    — Edward D. Melillo, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Two oil companies, Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum, are due to begin a joint project extracting from the oilfield within two years.
    — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of extracting

Browse Nearby Words

pull in
pulling
pulling a face
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Cite this Entry

“Pulling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulling. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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