Home > Synonyms > Synonyms for pull up

Find the synonyms or antonyms of a word



Synonyms for pull up

Grammar : Verb
Spell : poo l-uhp
Phonetic Transcription : ˈpʊlˌʌp

Top 10 synonyms for pull up
Other synonyms for the word pull up

Définition of pull up

Origin :
  • c.1300, "to move forcibly by pulling, to drag," from Old English pullian "to pluck off (wool), to draw out," of unknown origin, perhaps related to Low German pulen "remove the shell or husk," Frisian pûlje "to shell, husk," Middle Dutch polen "to peel, strip," Icelandic pula "work hard."
  • Early 14c. as "to pick, pull off, gather" (fruit, flowers, berries, leaves, petals, etc.); mid-14c. as "to uproot, pull up" (of teeth, weeds, etc.). Sense of "to draw, attract" (to oneself) is from c.1400; sense of "to pluck at with the fingers" is from c.1400. Meaning "tear to pieces" is mid-15c. By late 16c. it had replaced draw in these senses. Related: Pulled; pulling.
  • Common in slang usages 19c.-20c.; Bartlett (1859) has to pull foot "walk fast; run;" pull it "to run." To pull up "check a course of action" is from 1808, figurative of the lifting of the reins in horse-riding. To pull (someone's) chain in figurative sense is from 1974, perhaps on the notion of a captive animal; the expression was also used for "to contact" (someone), on the notion of the chain that operates a signaling mechanism.
  • To pull (someone's) leg is from 1882, perhaps on notion of "playfully tripping" (cf. pull the long bow "exaggerate," 1830, and pulling someone's leg also sometimes was described as a way to awaken a sleeping person in a railway compartment, ship's berth, etc.). Thornton's "American Glossary" (1912) has pull (n.) "a jest" (to have a pull at (someone)), which it identifies as "local" and illustrates with an example from the Massachusetts "Spy" of May 21, 1817, which identifies it as "a Georgian phrase." To pull (one's) punches is from 1920 in pugilism, from 1921 figuratively. To pull in "arrive" (1892) and pull out "depart" (1868) are from the railroads.
  • To pull (something) off "accomplish, succeed at" is originally in sporting, "to win the prize money" (1870). To pull (something) on (someone) is from 1916; to pull (something) out of one's ass is Army slang from 1970s. To pull rank is from 1919; to pull the rug from under (someone) figuratively is from 1946.
  • verb stop, halt
Example sentences :
  • Only let me advise you to pull up a spirit, even to your uncle, if there be occasion.
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • Prada called to his coachman, "pull up at the Osteria Romana."
  • Extract from : « The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete » by Emile Zola
  • I had to pull up with Fieldmouse, and couldn't get her to going again.
  • Extract from : « Old Man Curry » by Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
  • If purchased ready boiled, try whether their tails are stiff, and pull up with a spring; otherwise that part will be flabby.
  • Extract from : « The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, » by Mary Eaton
  • Cut down the stems of perennials which have done flowering, pull up annuals that are spent, and rake and clear the ground.
  • Extract from : « The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, » by Mary Eaton
  • Tell him to pull up at the Monico, and we'll have a brandy and soda.
  • Extract from : « The Missionary » by George Griffith
  • The man fell back; and a little further on Nostromo had to pull up.
  • Extract from : « Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard » by Joseph Conrad
  • "Throw her wide open and pull up at the nearest road-house," says I to Goggles.
  • Extract from : « Shorty McCabe » by Sewell Ford
  • Fetch 'em out, and tell 'em to pull up to the top of that hill there.
  • Extract from : « Pushed and the Return Push » by George Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)
  • "We'll bring her in another boat," and I began to pull up with all my might.
  • Extract from : « A Jolly Fellowship » by Frank R. Stockton

Antonyms for pull up

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019