PULLS Synonyms: 178 Similar and Opposite Words

pulls 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pull

as in hauls

to cause to follow by applying steady force on a team of horses pulling a heavy wagon

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Relevance

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as in yanks

to draw out by force or with effort the dentist had to struggle to pull the tooth

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as in stretches

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure lift the crate carefully, or you'll pull a muscle

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pulls

2 of 2

noun

plural of pull

as in tugs

the act or an instance of applying force on something so that it moves in the direction of the force I gave the door such a pull that when it suddenly opened, I nearly fell backwards

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as in sways

the power to direct the thinking or behavior of others usually indirectly their lawyer supposedly has a lot of pull with the administration in Washington

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as in edges

the more favorable condition or position in a competition a political candidate with all of the pull that comes with a vast fortune and famous surname

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pulls

Verb

Just before noon, Green drives through the intersection of Magnolia and Beaty streets, then suddenly pulls to the side of the road. — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 26 Oct. 2026 Its forward motion carries it around Earth while gravity pulls it toward the planet. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026 Your team is rallying from a possible loss, pulls within three points in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and the opponent is facing a critical fourth-and-1 from the 49-yard line. — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026 But once those bills stop after age 5, the lower rent pulls the long-run totals down sharply. — Martie Bowser, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026 Wood pulls the delivery truck up to a house with blue shutters and American flags. — Rachel Siegel, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026 Presumably in order to save some material for Season 4, Nobody Wants This pulls them apart just hours after their hookup. — Judy Berman, Time, 22 Oct. 2026 The driver pulls their van off the road so it’s parked halfway on an empty lot, runs over in black jeans and a band tee with the sleeves cut off, and climbs into the truck bed as Hollywell jokingly pulls away. — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026 When Randle pulls a defender into the paint, Porter has room to shoot if the ball comes back out. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026

Noun

Just as the first drag of a cigarette hits better than the pulls that follow it, there’s a real chance that a lie down on a 2000T will never be as pleasurable as the first time. — Jaklin Romine oct. 15, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 In the video, Porizkova can be seen doing exercises such as hammer curls, cable pulls, deadlifts, pull-ups, lunges and others. — Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026 All animal pull events were canceled on Saturday and Sunday for the safety of the animals and their equipment, and all tractor and truck pulls were canceled for Saturday. — Staff Reports, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026 Ferguson Home specializes in the kinds of pulls and knobs that will have guests inquiring about the finishes rather than the furniture itself. — Lori Keong, Architectural Digest, 10 Sep. 2026 These tokens fell sharply in the days after their debuts and quickly drew accusations of being rug pulls, a crypto term for projects in which insiders abruptly sell large holdings, leaving other investors with steep losses. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026 The pulls of our star and planet equal the centripetal force needed for a smaller object to stay in place. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026 Clean the Hardware Before cleaning the handles, knobs, or drawer pulls, consider the hardware material. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 1 Sep. 2026 Because knobs and pulls are handled frequently, clean and degrease them thoroughly before painting. — Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulls

Verb

The industry, which hauls 70% of all freight in America, has taken the biggest hit after the war with Iran sent fuel prices soaring.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Nevertheless, 2022’s Scream, revs the engine of the Scream 4, then hauls it in overdrive when more murderous mayhem storms through Woodsboro.

— Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of hauls

Verb

More specifically, the Base-01 stretches out over a patch of earthen floor measuring 183 sq ft (17 sq m) – about the same amount of floor as this handsome Ikea tiny home.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2026
The first island chain, which stretches from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines, is a central geographic feature in US and Chinese military planning.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of stretches

Noun

Nothing about Capra is weirder, to be honest, than the way in which, from one film of his to the next, suicide tugs at our sleeve.

— Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Electric tugs docked alongside an LNG carrier being loaded at the LNG Canada docks in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada, on Monday, July 14, 2025.

— Sam Meredith, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of tugs

Noun

Beirut's private-press scene has little in common with the studio culture of ’80s Tokyo, where an abundance of resources and technology filtered the same foreign influences into something more perfect and polished.

— Shy Clara Thompson, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
Over the years, his wardrobe has moved between sharp tailoring, sporty staples, and collegiate influences, with shell jackets, fleeces, wide-legged trousers, and oversized silhouettes all making regular appearances.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of influences

Verb

Try to keep that in mind the next time your kid drags you to some terrible Star Wars thing that nobody asked for.

— Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 23 Oct. 2026
The deadpan family comedy follows a 63-year-old man who drags nine relatives on a one-day tour of nine temples after a fortune teller warns that his mother will soon die.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of drags

Verb

By fields of cotton and soybeans where his bees forage and pollinate, Foster Hensel pries open the lid of one of his beehives, setting off a rising hum from inside.

— Drew Hawkins, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026
Remove the 11 Philips-head screws on the bottom of the laptop, and its bottom pries up with a bit of pressure.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026