pull : Idioms & Phrases

• a cord, handle, or knob, connecting with a bell or bell wire, and which will ring the bell when pulled. Aytoun.

Webster 1913

• noun inflation caused by an increase in the costs of production
  

WordNet

• wool pulled from a carcass.

Webster 1913

• noun inflation caused by an increase in demand or in the supply of money
  

WordNet

• noun as a joke: trying to make somebody believe something that is not true
  leg-pull.
  

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• noun as a joke: trying to make somebody believe something that is not true
  leg-pull.
  

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• noun a form of torture in which the fingernails or toenails are removed
  nail removal.
  

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• verb contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
  make a face; grimace.
  
  • He grimaced when he saw the amount of homework he had to do

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• verb deceive somebody
  play tricks; flim-flam; play a joke on; fox; trick; play a trick on; fob.
  
  • We tricked the teacher into thinking that class would be cancelled next week

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• verb obtain advantages, such as points, etc.
  make headway; advance; gain ground; get ahead; win; gain.
  
  • The home team was gaining ground
  • After defeating the Knicks, the Blazers pulled ahead of the Lakers in the battle for the number-one playoff berth in the Western Conference

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• verb pull along heavily, like a heavy load against a resistance
  schlep; shlep.
  
  • Can you shlep this bag of potatoes upstairs?
  • She pulled along a large trunk

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• verb pluck or pull at with the fingers
  pick at; pluck at.
  
  • She picked nervously at the buttons of her blouse

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• verb pull back or move away or backward
  retire; recede; move back; withdraw; pull away; draw back; retreat.
  
  • The enemy withdrew
  • The limo pulled away from the curb

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• verb pull back or move away or backward
  retire; recede; move back; withdraw; pull away; draw back; retreat.
  
  • The enemy withdrew
  • The limo pulled away from the curb
• verb use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound or an organ)
  retract; draw back.
  
• verb move to a rearward position; pull towards the back
  
  • Pull back your arms!
• verb stretch back a bowstring (on an archer's bow)
  draw.
  
  • The archers were drawing their bows
• verb make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
  back away; back out; crawfish; pull back; crawfish out; withdraw; retreat.
  
  • We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him
  • He backed out of his earlier promise
  • The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns

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• noun a chain (usually with a handle at the end) that is pulled in order to operate some mechanism (e.g. to flush a toilet)
  

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• verb tear down so as to make flat with the ground
  rase; level; take down; dismantle; tear down; raze.
  
  • The building was levelled
• verb cause to come or go down
  down; knock down; push down; cut down.
  
  • The policeman downed the heavily armed suspect
  • The mugger knocked down the old lady after she refused to hand over her wallet

WordNet

• verb direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
  pull; draw in; attract; draw.
  
  • Her good looks attract the stares of many men
  • The ad pulled in many potential customers
  • This pianist pulls huge crowds
  • The store owner was happy that the ad drew in many new customers
• verb earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
  earn; bring in; clear; take in; gain; realise; realize; make.
  
  • How much do you make a month in your new job?
  • She earns a lot in her new job
  • this merger brought in lots of money
  • He clears $5,000 each month
• verb of trains; move into (a station)
  get in; draw in; move in.
  
  • The bullet train drew into Tokyo Station
• verb get or bring together
  collect.
  
  • accumulate evidence

WordNet

• verb make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
  back away; back out; crawfish; pull back; crawfish out; withdraw; retreat.
  
  • We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him
  • He backed out of his earlier promise
  • The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns

WordNet

• verb pull or pull out sharply
  tweak; pick off; pluck.
  
  • pluck the flowers off the bush
• verb cause to withdraw
  
  • We pulled this firm off the project because they overcharged
• verb be successful; achieve a goal
  manage; negociate; bring off; carry off.
  
  • She succeeded in persuading us all
  • I managed to carry the box upstairs
  • She pulled it off, even though we never thought her capable of it
  • The pianist negociated the difficult runs
• verb remove by drawing or pulling
  draw away; draw off.
  
  • She placed the tray down and drew off the cloth
  • draw away the cloth that is covering the cheese

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• verb do one's share in a common task
  
  • Bob has never pulled his weight, and we all have to work harder to make up for his laziness

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• verb move out or away
  get out.
  
  • The troops pulled out after the cease-fire
• verb bring, take, or pull out of a container or from under a cover
  take out; pull; draw; get out.
  
  • draw a weapon
  • pull out a gun
  • The mugger pulled a knife on his victim
• verb remove, usually with some force or effort; also used in an abstract sense
  take out; pull; pull out; draw out; extract.
  
  • pull weeds
  • extract a bad tooth
  • take out a splinter
  • extract information from the telegram
• verb remove oneself from an obligation
  back down; back off; bow out; chicken out.
  
  • He bowed out when he heard how much work was involved

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• verb use all resources available
  
  • The organizers pulled out all the stops for the centennial meeting

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• verb steer a vehicle to the side of the road
  
  • The car pulled over when the ambulance approached at high speed

WordNet

• to insist on one's own prerogative or plan of action, by right of a higher rank than that of one suggesting a different plan

Webster 1913

• verb continue in existence after (an adversity, etc.)
  survive; pull round; make it; come through.
  
  • He survived the cancer against all odds

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• verb subject to a playful hoax or joke
  hoax; play a joke on.
  

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• verb influence or control shrewdly or deviously
  pull strings; manipulate.
  
  • He manipulated public opinion in his favor

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• verb tell false information to for fun
  kid.
  
  • Are you pulling my leg?

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• verb prevent from happening or continuing
  
  • The government pulled the plug on spending

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• verb conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end
  lead by the nose; play false; snow; hoodwink; bamboozle.
  
  • He bamboozled his professors into thinking that he knew the subject well

WordNet

• verb continue in existence after (an adversity, etc.)
  survive; pull round; make it; come through.
  
  • He survived the cancer against all odds
• verb bring into safety
  bring through; save; carry through.
  
  • We pulled through most of the victims of the bomb attack

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• verb assemble or get together
  collect; gather; garner.
  
  • gather some stones
  • pull your thoughts together

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• verb come to a halt after driving somewhere
  draw up; haul up.
  
  • The Rolls pulled up on pour front lawn
  • The chauffeur hauled up in front of us
• verb straighten oneself
  draw up; straighten up.
  
  • He drew himself up when he talked to his superior
• verb cause (a vehicle) to stop
  draw up.
  
  • He pulled up the car in front of the hotel
• verb remove, usually with some force or effort; also used in an abstract sense
  take out; pull; pull out; draw out; extract.
  
  • pull weeds
  • extract a bad tooth
  • take out a splinter
  • extract information from the telegram

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• verb stop abruptly
  
  • The police car pulled up short and then turned around fast

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• verb remove oneself from an association with or participation in
  leave; depart.
  
  • She wants to leave
  • The teenager left home
  • She left her position with the Red Cross
  • He left the Senate after two terms
  • after 20 years with the same company, she pulled up stakes

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• verb influence or control shrewdly or deviously
  pull strings; manipulate.
  
  • He manipulated public opinion in his favor

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• noun a roadside cafe especially for lorry drivers
  pull-in.
  

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• noun designated paved area beside a main road where cars can stop temporarily
  rest stop; lay-by; rest area; layby.
  

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• noun cleaning implement consisting of an oily rag attached by a cord to a weight; is pulled through the barrel of a rifle or handgun to clean it
  

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• noun a roadside cafe especially for lorry drivers
  pull-in.
  
• noun an arm exercise performed by pulling yourself up on a horizontal bar until your chin is level with the bar
  chin-up.
  

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• noun a method of birth control in which coitus is initiated but the penis is deliberately withdrawn before ejaculation
  withdrawal method; coitus interruptus; onanism; withdrawal.
  

WordNet

• to swindle an ignorant or unsuspecting person. Obs. "Privily a finch eke could he pull."

Webster 1913

• to draw hither and thither. " Both are equally pulled and hauled to do that which they are unable to do. " South.

Webster 1913

• to become separated by pulling; as, a rope will pull apart.

Webster 1913

• to demolish; to destroy; to degrade; as, to pull down a house. " In political affairs, as well as mechanical, it is easier to pull down than build up." Howell. " To raise the wretched, and pull down the proud." Roscommon.

Webster 1913

• take or draw off. (b) to perform (something illegal or unethical); as, to pull off a heist [robbery]. (c) to accomplish, against the odds.

Webster 1913

• to come successfully to the end of a difficult undertaking, a dangerous sickness, or the like.

Webster 1913

• to draw the reins; to stop; to halt.

Webster 1913

Wire"-pull`ing noun

Definitions

1. The act of pulling the wires, as of a puppet; hence, secret influence or management, especially in politics; intrigue.

Webster 1913