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
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Recent Examples of pulling
Saturday’s episode marked Styles’ second time pulling double duty as SNL host and musical guest.
—
Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 15 Mar. 2026
Use methods like hand-pulling, hoeing, newspaper or cardboard mulching, and drip irrigation to manage weeds without harming your crops or the soil.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 14 Mar. 2026
Just two months ahead of his Together, Together tour kickoff, and one week after crashing Ryan Gosling’s SNL monologue, Harry Styles is pulling double duty as Saturday Night Live host and musical guest.
—Erin Lassner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Mar. 2026
Instead, writer-directors Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer’s debut feature draws its title from the simple action of pulling a dead-weight object along the ground or floor.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
That gives it a WMTC range of up to 93 miles (120 km) in mixed riding conditions and around 75 miles (120 km) when pulling the bike hard.
—New Atlas, 14 Mar. 2026
Hughes came out of his home and approached the students pulling the prank, and then tripped and fell into the street, authorities previously said.
—Caroline Silva, AJC.com, 13 Mar. 2026
But best actress also has a history of pulling spoilers.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 13 Mar. 2026
Those worries have spilled into financial markets, pulling share prices sharply lower.
—Alex Veiga, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 15 Mar. 2026
Use methods like hand-pulling, hoeing, newspaper or cardboard mulching, and drip irrigation to manage weeds without harming your crops or the soil.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 14 Mar. 2026
Just two months ahead of his Together, Together tour kickoff, and one week after crashing Ryan Gosling’s SNL monologue, Harry Styles is pulling double duty as Saturday Night Live host and musical guest.
—Erin Lassner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Mar. 2026
Instead, writer-directors Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer’s debut feature draws its title from the simple action of pulling a dead-weight object along the ground or floor.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
That gives it a WMTC range of up to 93 miles (120 km) in mixed riding conditions and around 75 miles (120 km) when pulling the bike hard.
—New Atlas, 14 Mar. 2026
Hughes came out of his home and approached the students pulling the prank, and then tripped and fell into the street, authorities previously said.
—Caroline Silva, AJC.com, 13 Mar. 2026
But best actress also has a history of pulling spoilers.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 13 Mar. 2026
Those worries have spilled into financial markets, pulling share prices sharply lower.
—Alex Veiga, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulling
Verb
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The services are also experimenting with using drones as aerial pack mules, hauling ammunition and other gear across the battlefield.—
Chris Boccia,
ABC News,
12 Mar. 2026
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Singh was stopped for inspection at a weigh station while hauling a load of frozen chicken along Interstate 80.—
Simon Hankinson,
Boston Herald,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The ceremony was held at the tiny First African Baptist Church in Cumberland Island, Georgia, away from prying eyes and paparazzi.—
Stefania Conrieri,
Vanity Fair,
6 Mar. 2026
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After being hounded by paparazzi for their entire courtship, the duo managed to pull off a secret wedding, away from prying eyes, on a secluded island in Georgia.—
Claudia Williams,
Architectural Digest,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The two sides have been trading blame in recent days as the shutdown's strains have begun to be felt, with long security lines stretching through airports.—
Kaia Hubbard,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
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The company maintains transaction logs stretching back nearly two decades.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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His legs felt like anchors dragging across the court.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
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The war dragging on could also see markets whip back and oil costs continue to soar, especially as the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly 20% of the world's oil remains largely impassible.—
Garrett Downs,
CNBC,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The body-camera footage shows Exum yanking the wheel left, toward the Rogue, then right.—
Ruby Cramer,
New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2026
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Other plaintiffs’ attorneys, however, have called the CEO’s threat of yanking the product a scare tactic.—
Lisa Schencker,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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All stones start out as crystals that grow or coalesce in the bladder leading to urinary problems manifested in different ways such as straining to urinate, inability to urinate, bloody urination, inappropriate voiding, and more.—
Dr. John De Jong,
Boston Herald,
15 Mar. 2026
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Flores said the rising cost of fuel is straining his budget.—
Da Lin,
CBS News,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Playing the title role of a linguistics professor who faces changes and prepares her family for what's to come as the disease takes hold, Moore navigates the character arc with honesty and heart-tugging empathy.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
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On Friday, the Euphoria stargave fans a glimpse of her ideal cozy date night, tugging down her plunging burgundy bralette while snapping photos on her laptop from her bed.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This means that even if a fault-tolerant quantum computer becomes available, QPE could still struggle with large molecules because the chance of successfully extracting the correct energy becomes vanishingly small.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Mar. 2026
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And there’s something offensively tawdry that all of this is in mere service of extracting rent.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pulling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulling. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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