pull off
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
pull
(po͝ol)v. pulled, pull·ing, pulls
v.tr.
1. To apply force to (something) so as to cause or tend to cause motion toward the source of the force: pulled her chair up to the table; pulled the wagon down the street.
2. To remove from a fixed position; extract: The dentist pulled the tooth.
3. To tug at; jerk or tweak: I pulled the lever until it broke.
4. To rip or tear; rend: The dog pulled the toy to pieces.
5. To stretch (taffy, for example) repeatedly.
6. To strain (a muscle, for example) injuriously.
7. Informal To attract; draw: a performer who pulls large crowds.
8. Slang To draw out (a weapon) in readiness for use: pull a gun; pulled a knife on me.
9. Informal To remove: pulled the car's engine; pulled the tainted meat product from the stores.
10. Sports To hit (a ball) so that it moves in the direction away from the dominant hand of the player propelling it, as to the left of a right-handed player.
11. Nautical
a. To operate (an oar) in rowing.
b. To transport or propel by rowing.
c. To be rowed by: That boat pulls six oars.
12. To rein in (a horse) to keep it from winning a race.
13. Printing To produce (a print or an impression) from type.
v.intr.
1. To exert force in moving something toward the source of the force: Pull harder and the window will open.
2.
a. To move in a certain direction or toward a certain goal: pulled into the driveway; pulled even with the race leader.
b. To gain a position closer to an objective: Our team has pulled within three points of the league leader.
3. To drink or inhale deeply: pulled on the cold beer with gusto; pull on a cigarette.
4. Nautical To row a boat.
5. Informal To express or feel great sympathy or empathy: We're pulling for our new president.
n.
Phrasal Verbs: 1. The act or process of pulling: gave the drawer a pull.
2. Force exerted in pulling or required to overcome resistance in pulling: How much pull does this tugboat have?
3. A sustained effort: a long pull across the mountains.
4. Something, such as a knob on a drawer, that is used for pulling.
5. A deep inhalation or draft, as on a cigarette or of a beverage.
6. Slang A means of gaining special advantage; influence: The lobbyist has pull with the senator.
7. Informal The ability to draw or attract; appeal: a star with pull at the box office.
pull ahead
To move ahead, as in a race.
pull away
1. To move away or backward; withdraw: The limousine pulled away from the curb.
2. To move ahead of another or others: The horse pulled away and took the lead in the race.
pull back
1. To withdraw or retreat.
2. To reduce one's involvement in a given enterprise.
pull down
1. To demolish; destroy: pull down an old office building.
2. To reduce to a lower level: The bad news pulled down stock prices.
3. To depress, as in spirits or health.
4. Informal To draw (money) as wages: pulls down a hefty salary.
pull in
1. To arrive at a destination: We pulled in at midnight.
2. To obtain, earn, or secure: How much money does he pull in? She pulled in half of the opponent's supporters.
3. To rein in; restrain: pulled in the investigators.
4. To arrest (a criminal suspect, for example).
pull off Informal
To accomplish in spite of difficulties or obstacles; bring off: pulled off a last-minute victory.
pull out
1. To leave or depart: The train pulls out at noon.
2. To withdraw, as from a situation or commitment: After the crash, many Wall Street investors pulled out.
pull over
1. To bring a vehicle to a stop at a curb or at the side of a road: We pulled over to watch the sunset.
2. To force (a motorist or a vehicle) to stop at a curb or at the side of a road: The state trooper pulled the speeding motorist over.
pull round
To restore or be restored to sound health.
pull through
To come or bring successfully through trouble or illness.
pull up
Idioms: 1. To bring or come to a halt: The driver pulled the car up at the curb. The car pulled up in front of the hotel.
2. To approach and arrive at a destination: We watched the plane pull up to the gate.
3. To increase or cause to increase in altitude: The plane pulled up just enough to miss the tower.
4. To advance or regain position, as in a race.
5. To check the action of: The remark pulled him up short.
6. To reprove or rebuke: They were pulled up for wasting money.
7. Basketball To stop one's progress and bring the ball up above one's head in order to take a jump shot.
pull a fast one Informal
To play a trick or perpetrate a fraud.
pull (oneself) together
To regain one's composure.
pull (one's) punches
To refrain from deploying all the resources or force at one's disposal: didn't pull any punches during the negotiations.
pull (one's) weight
To do one's own share, as of work.
pull out all the stops Informal
To deploy all the resources or force at one's disposal: The Inaugural Committee pulled out all the stops when arranging the ceremonies.
pull (someone's) leg
To play a joke on; tease or deceive.
pull something
To carry out a deception or swindle: worried that his partners might be trying to pull something behind his back.
pull strings/wires Informal
To exert secret control or influence in order to gain an end.
pull the plug on Slang
To stop supporting or bring to an end: pulled the plug on the new art courses.
pull the rug (out) from under Informal
To remove all support and assistance from, usually suddenly.
pull the string
Baseball To throw an off-speed pitch.
pull the wool over (someone's) eyes
To deceive; hoodwink.
pull together
To make a joint effort.
pull up stakes
To clear out; leave: She pulled up stakes in New England and moved to the desert.
[Middle English pullen, from Old English pullian.]
pull′er n.
Synonyms: pull, drag, draw, haul, tow1, tug
These verbs mean to cause something to move toward the source of an applied force. Pull is the most general: They pulled the sleds up a hill.
Drag stresses the effort involved in pulling, and also often that the object being moved is trailing along a surface: "His hands were dirty too, and they streaked his face as he dragged his fingers against his cheeks" (Paul Theroux).
Draw can be used to imply movement in a given direction: The teacher drew the children into the room to see the decorations.
Draw can also be used to indicate pulling so as to cover or uncover another object: She draws the curtains so we can see the sunlight.
To haul is to pull an object that is heavy, cumbersome, or otherwise difficult to move: "All three of us roll the drum to the driveway, flattening a strip of knee-high grass, acting like we haul mystery drums every day" (Mark Wisniewski).
Tow means to pull by means of a chain or line: Some cars can tow trailers.
Tug emphasizes repeated and sometimes vigorous pulling: "A strong-willed baby, wide awake and not to be ignored, already reaching out filament fingers to tug at her" (Tana French).
These verbs mean to cause something to move toward the source of an applied force. Pull is the most general: They pulled the sleds up a hill.
Drag stresses the effort involved in pulling, and also often that the object being moved is trailing along a surface: "His hands were dirty too, and they streaked his face as he dragged his fingers against his cheeks" (Paul Theroux).
Draw can be used to imply movement in a given direction: The teacher drew the children into the room to see the decorations.
Draw can also be used to indicate pulling so as to cover or uncover another object: She draws the curtains so we can see the sunlight.
To haul is to pull an object that is heavy, cumbersome, or otherwise difficult to move: "All three of us roll the drum to the driveway, flattening a strip of knee-high grass, acting like we haul mystery drums every day" (Mark Wisniewski).
Tow means to pull by means of a chain or line: Some cars can tow trailers.
Tug emphasizes repeated and sometimes vigorous pulling: "A strong-willed baby, wide awake and not to be ignored, already reaching out filament fingers to tug at her" (Tana French).
Antonym: push
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pull off
vb (tr)
1. (Clothing & Fashion) to remove (clothing) forcefully
2. (adverb) to succeed in performing (a difficult feat)
3. (Automotive Engineering) (intr) (of a motor vehicle, driver, etc) to move to the side of the road and stop
4. (Automotive Engineering) (intr) (of a motor vehicle, driver, etc) to start to move
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. |  pull off - pull or pull out sharply; "pluck the flowers off the bush"draw off, draw away, pull off - remove by drawing or pulling; "She placed the tray down and drew off the cloth"; "draw away the cloth that is covering the cheese" tweeze - pluck with tweezers; "tweeze facial hair" |
| 2. | pull off - cause to withdraw; "We pulled this firm off the project because they overcharged" remove - remove from a position or an office | |
| 3. | pull off - be successful; achieve a goal; "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" bring home the bacon, deliver the goods, succeed, win, come through - attain success or reach a desired goal; "The enterprise succeeded"; "We succeeded in getting tickets to the show"; "she struggled to overcome her handicap and won" | |
| 4. | pull off - remove by drawing or pulling; "She placed the tray down and drew off the cloth"; "draw away the cloth that is covering the cheese" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
pull
verb1. To exert force so as to move (something) toward the source of the force:
pull back
To move back in the face of enemy attack or after a defeat:
Idioms: beat a retreat, give ground.
pull down
1. To pull down or break up so that reconstruction is impossible:
Aerospace: destruct.
pull in
1. To come to a particular place:
Slang: blow in.
Idiom: make an appearance.
pull off
2. Informal. To be responsible for or guilty of (an error or crime):
pull on
phrasal verb
pull out
1. To move or proceed away from a place:
Idioms: hit the road, take leave.
2. To move back in the face of enemy attack or after a defeat:
Idioms: beat a retreat, give ground.
pull throughnoun
4. Slang. The power to produce an effect by indirect means:
Informal: clout.
5. Informal. The power or quality of attracting:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَنْجَحُ في عَمَلٍ
dokázatuspět
fuldføre
sikerült neki!
heppnast, takast
afscheuren
w>pull off
vt sep
wrapping paper → abziehen; cover → abnehmen; (violently) → abreißen; clothes, pullover, shoes → ausziehen; gloves, tights → ausziehen, abstreifen; he pulled his clothes off and jumped into the water → er riss sich (dat) → die Kleider vom Leib und sprang ins Wasser; he quickly pulled his/her coat off → er zog sich/ihr schnell den Mantel aus
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
pull
(pul) verb1. to (try to) move something especially towards oneself usually by using force. He pulled the chair towards the fire; She pulled at the door but couldn't open it; He kept pulling the girls' hair for fun; Help me to pull my boots off; This railway engine can pull twelve carriages.
2. (with at or on) in eg smoking, to suck at. He pulled at his cigarette.
3. to row. He pulled towards the shore.
4. (of a driver or vehicle) to steer or move in a certain direction. The car pulled in at the garage; I pulled into the side of the road; The train pulled out of the station; The motorbike pulled out to overtake; He pulled off the road.
noun1. an act of pulling. I felt a pull at my sleeve; He took a pull at his beer/pipe.
2. a pulling or attracting force. magnetic pull; the pull (=attraction) of the sea.
3. influence. He thinks he has some pull with the headmaster.
pull apart / to pieces to tear or destroy completely by pulling.
pull down to destroy or demolish (buildings).
pull a face / faces (at) to make strange expressions with the face eg to show disgust, or to amuse. The children were pulling faces at each other; He pulled a face when he smelt the fish.
pull a gun etc on to produce and aim a gun etc at (a person).
pull off to succeed in doing. He's finally pulled it off!
pull on to put on (a piece of clothing) hastily. She pulled on a sweater.
pull oneself together to control oneself; to regain one's self-control. At first she was terrified, then she pulled herself together.
pull through to (help to) survive an illness etc. He is very ill, but he'll pull through; The expert medical treatment pulled him through.
pull up (of a driver or vehicle) to stop. He pulled up at the traffic lights.
pull one's weight to take one's fair share of work, duty etc.
pull someone's leglegKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.