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pull

n. countable
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ˈpʊɫ// UK //pˈʊl// pull Archaic General-service Informal Literary Slang

n. a force that moves something towards you. You can give a door a pull to open it, or feel the pull of a strong magnet.

n. a force exerted on an object to draw it towards the source. It can describe a single, distinct action or a continuous attraction.


SIMPLE

Give the rope a strong pull.

CONTEXTUAL

The pull of the large magnet was strong enough to attract paperclips from across the desk.

COMPLEX

She felt the irresistible pull of the ocean, a deep, ancestral calling that drew her back to the coast year after year, regardless of her life's other commitments.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

Verb from Middle English pullen, from Old English pullian (“to pull, draw, tug, pluck off”), of uncertain ultimate origin. Related to West Frisian pûlje (“to shell, husk”), Middle Dutch pullen (“to drink”), Middle Dutch polen (“to peel, strip”), Low German pulen (“to pick, pluck, pull, tear, strip off husks”), Icelandic púla (“to work hard, beat”). Noun from Middle English pul, pull, pulle, from the verb pullen (“to pull”).

Usage

Commonly used with the verb 'give' in the pattern 'give something a pull'.

Idioms44 entries

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