pulls off

verb

present tense third-person singular of pull off
as in fulfills
to carry through (as a process) to completion the rebel forces pulled off a surprisingly successful offensive against the better equipped government troops

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 off With a host of collaborations (Echonomist, Kaiden Ford, James Messiah, Cantoalegre and more), the very least that this album pulls off is showcasing just how versatile an artist Haai is. — Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 9 Oct. 2026 Conanan wants to invite Johnny and Matthew's parents, Guy and Jane Gaudreau, to the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, later this fall if his horse pulls off the upset. — ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026 Phoebe Bridgers, in her first film role, pulls off an uncanny transformation as a decoy who bends lines of age and gender. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026 Anchored by a surprisingly poignant motion-capture performance from Josh Brolin, the film, for the most part, pulls off the tricky balance of delivering sensational sequences and a catharsis that grounds the unimaginable stakes. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026 If there was a silver lining, at least Britain’s trigger-pulls off the start line were an improvement on their woeful Saturday starts. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 26 July 2026 Woods often uses comedy to lighten the load, and sometimes — especially in scenes with Plaza — pulls off the tricky feat of finding humor in serious or even dire situations. — Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 16 June 2026 In spite of The Connaught’s obvious grandeur and heritage kudos, everyone is treated as equal by each member of staff with the deft service touch that the Maybourne Group pulls off so beautifully. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026 In addition to Galitzine, Idris Elba gets to chew on scenery and a redemption arc as Teela’s battle-ready dad Man-At-Arms, and Jared Leto pulls off his most enjoyable role in years, melding bombastic theatricality and bad-boss vibes as Skeletor. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 2 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulls off
  1. fulfills
  2. performs
  3. accomplishes
  4. executes
  5. achieves
  6. does
  7. makes
  8. carries out
Verb
  • Securing public money for them raises issues over church-state separation but fulfills a longstanding goal for Christian conservatives, who lobbied for this funding.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Ashley Gearhardt, who studies and treats food addiction at the University of Michigan, points out that social media fulfills our base need for socialization in the same way that ultraprocessed products fulfill our need for food.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of fulfills
Verb
  • The re-emergence of a long-unseen Jean-Michel Basquiat masterpiece is a miracle the art market occasionally performs.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Brooks performs in the round, meaning anyone can see him on the stage regardless of where they’re seated.
    — Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of performs
Verb
  • Seattle accomplishes this by masterfully disguising defensive assignments before the snap, which can force Mahomes to diagnose where to go with the football only after dropping back.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
  • By avoiding a price cut, this option maintains the value of your property and nearby residences but still accomplishes your goal of bringing would-be buyers to your place.
    — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of accomplishes
Verb
  • How can Christians, who both grieve and celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus, support a flawed justice system that inevitably executes innocents?
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Some of the chip designs that the company executes, like those which animate an iPhone or a Mac, are inestimably precious trade secrets.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of executes
Verb
  • And while tax law partially achieves his pledge to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, the reality is a little more complicated.
    — Josephine Murphy, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The jacket achieves weather-resistant performance through a unique process where Hermin Textiin weaves ultra-fine lyocell yarns into a dense ripstop, then compacts it with heat.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of achieves
Verb
  • And a reminder that these millionaires are playing a child’s game, because no one relishes it with quite the joy and verve and passion and emotion and occasional tantrum like Doncic does.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • By default, the dial does nothing other than serve as the pairing button.
    — Mark Knapp, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of does
Verb
  • Ukraine's General Staff that day said its forces hit an electronics plant in Oryol that makes components for the cruise and ballistic missiles Russia fires at Ukrainian cities.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Pulling on a long rope of influences that begins with the Wilsons and runs through British prog, bedroom pop, and chillwave, Doomed is a serene and satisfying collection which, like its forebears, makes a personal matter of universal consciousness.
    — Ryan Meehan, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of makes
Verb
  • Sell Your Gold carries out that assessment as the potential buyer.
    — Kaitlyn Gomez, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
  • China sends military planes, as well as Coast Guard ships and other vessels towards Taiwan on a daily basis and carries out large-scale military exercises from time to time.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of carries out

Browse Nearby Words

pulls in
pulls off
pulls one's leg
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pulls off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulls%20off. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All