1
as in hauling
to cause to follow by applying steady force on
a team of horses pulling a heavy wagon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
There’s a lot of repairing and resolution that needs to happen in this final episode, but luckily things start strong with Liz and Jo-Ellen pulling each other aside to talk things through on the beach.
—
Tom Smyth, Vulture, 15 June 2026
But Hong Kong has a way of pulling people back.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 June 2026
Kai Havertz is likely to lead the line for Germany, with Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz pulling the strings just behind him.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 14 June 2026
True to its source material, this latest adaptation of the vampire story delivers on the centuries old legacy of sexiness; costuming for the show playing an integral part in pulling that off.
—Caroline Reilly, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
Saving a wildfire burn victim Department leaders shared the heroic stories of the recipients, which included rescuing victims from wildfires and car accidents, shielding children from gunfire and pulling people from freezing water.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 13 June 2026
Hugo is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes to arrange for Daniel’s theft of the top secret materials.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 13 June 2026
More recently, Flynn criticized Councilor Sharon Durkan for suggesting last month that pulling back Council raises would lead to more corruption on the body like the recent federal bust of ex-Councilor Fernandes Anderson for a $7,000 kickback scheme.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 13 June 2026
If the plant was root bound in its pot, consider pulling it out of the ground, loosening up the roots so water can penetrate, and replanting it.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 7 June 2026
Tom Smyth, Vulture, 15 June 2026
But Hong Kong has a way of pulling people back.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 June 2026
Kai Havertz is likely to lead the line for Germany, with Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz pulling the strings just behind him.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 14 June 2026
True to its source material, this latest adaptation of the vampire story delivers on the centuries old legacy of sexiness; costuming for the show playing an integral part in pulling that off.
—Caroline Reilly, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
Saving a wildfire burn victim Department leaders shared the heroic stories of the recipients, which included rescuing victims from wildfires and car accidents, shielding children from gunfire and pulling people from freezing water.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 13 June 2026
Hugo is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes to arrange for Daniel’s theft of the top secret materials.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 13 June 2026
More recently, Flynn criticized Councilor Sharon Durkan for suggesting last month that pulling back Council raises would lead to more corruption on the body like the recent federal bust of ex-Councilor Fernandes Anderson for a $7,000 kickback scheme.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 13 June 2026
If the plant was root bound in its pot, consider pulling it out of the ground, loosening up the roots so water can penetrate, and replanting it.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 7 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulling
Verb
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Police say the 27-year-old jumped from the truck and was run over by a trailer on the back hauling a skid loader.—
Joe Brandt,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
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Ironically enough, the new revenue stream is largely a matter of hauling coals to Newcastle, given the expansion of the field from 32 teams to 48.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Even remakes and adaptations of centuries-old novels are kept away from prying eyes, forgetting that everybody can look up the ending of every story ever told on Wikipedia.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
9 June 2026
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Three days after announcing the hire of Chris MacFarland as their new hockey boss after somehow prying him out of Colorado, the club announced the hiring of Rob Blake as executive vice president of hockey operations on Friday.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
Verb
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Presenting what must be some of the Riviera's most impressive views, every room of the hotel has access to 180-degree uninterrupted vistas of the Mediterranean sea and coastline stretching from Italy all the way along to the Principality and beyond.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 June 2026
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There was also a giant tree stretching across Laflin Street about a block from the scene of the fire, after being felled by the storms on Wednesday.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Tech had a rough Tuesday, dragging the S&P and Nasdaq lower.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
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Part of Cantoni’s job is to collect ticks from around the state through a process called dragging.—
Allison Gollenberg,
Hartford Courant,
9 June 2026
Verb
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There are stories of major Nashville players yanking him off the street, keeping him drunk for days in hotels, then leaving Knoxville with stacks of new songs.—
Jonathan Rowe,
SPIN,
1 June 2026
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Since early May, companies that used the dry milk powder in their food products have been yanking those products on the concern they might be contaminated with salmonella.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
31 May 2026
Verb
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In the constituency’s main town of Ashton-in-Makerfield, 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of London, some voters echo Reform claims that recent arrivals are straining housing and public services.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
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Either way, the machine is straining.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Vinicus followed up his stunning early strike with a series of nagging runs, tugging the Panamanians’ back line into awkward shapes.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
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Jupiter's moons are in a chain of orbital resonances that could only have formed by the moons tugging gently on each other in passing over a long period of time, and crater records also suggest that Jupiter's moons are very, very old.—
Kiona N. Smith,
Space.com,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The tool summarizes conversations across Slack channels, extracting insights from messages, documents and files.—
Gene Marks,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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This device accomplishes the feat by extracting two distinct, valuable chemical products from the energy of a single photon of light.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pulling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulling. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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