When a vehicle or driver pulls up, the vehicle slows down and stops.
The cab pulled up and the driver jumped out. [VERBPARTICLE]
2. phrasal verb
If you pull up a chair, you move it closer to something or someone and sit on it.
He pulled up a chair behind her and put his chin on her shoulder. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
[Also VERB noun PARTICLE]
3. ergative phrasal verb
If you pull up or if something pulls you up, you suddenly stop what you are doing.
Suddenly, he pulled up sharply in his stride, and fell to the floor. [VERBPARTICLE]
She recognized at the same instant Rachel's presence. It pulled her up short. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
4. phrasal verb
If someone pulls you up or if you pullyourselfup, you improve your situation or your skill at something.
We had a very good mathematics mistress who pulled me up. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
He was made redundant and now he's trying to pull himself up again. [VERB pronoun-reflexive PARTICLE]
More Synonyms of pull up
See full dictionary entry for pull
pull up in British English
verb(adverb)
1. (transitive)
to remove by the roots
2. (often foll bywith or on)
to move level (with) or ahead (of) or cause to move level (with) or ahead (of), esp in a race
3.
to stop
4. (transitive)
to rebuke
nounpull-up
5.
an exercise in which the body is raised up by the arms pulling on a horizontal bar fixed above the head
6. British old-fashioned
a roadside café
pull-up in British English
(ˈpʊlˌʌp)
noun British
1. old-fashioned another name for pull-in
2. gymnastics
an exercise in which you hold onto a high bar above your head and pull yourself uptowards it
We'll do some pull-ups. If you do some of these every day your arms will soon beas strong as mine.
pull up in American English
1.
to uproot
2.
to bring or come to a stop
3.
a.
to drive (a vehicle) to a specified place
b.
to make (an aircraft) nose up sharply
4.
to check or rebuke
See full dictionary entry for pull
pull-up in American English
(ˈpʊlˌʌp) or ˈpullˌup (ˈpʊlˌʌp)
noun
an exercise in which a person chins himself or herself
Examples of 'pull up' in a sentence
pull up
Ginny's father and his disciples haven't managed, after all, to pull up the drawbridge.
Gaskin, Catherine THE AMBASSADOR'S WOMEN
Finally we pull up in a deserted street next to a small bookshop.
Alex George LOVE YOU MADLY (2002)
She had to pull up hard on her feet to keep them from sticking to the floor.
Tony Daniel METAPLANETARY (2001)
`Jocelyn needs a good steady pull-up, but not until she's got over her present state of weeps.
Brent-Dyer, Elinor CHALLENGE FOR THE CHALET SCHOOL (2001)
She scooped Keefer up, and pull-up pants and juice bottles tumbled.
Jacquelyn Mitchard A THEORY OF RELATIVITY (2001)
In other languages
pull up
British English: pull up /pʊl ʌp/ VERB
When a vehicle or driver pulls up, the vehicle slows down and stops.
The car pulled up and the driver jumped out.
American English: pull up
Arabic: يَتَوَقَف
Brazilian Portuguese: encostar o carro
Chinese: 停下
Croatian: zaustaviti se
Czech: zastavit vozidlo
Danish: køre ind
Dutch: stoppen
European Spanish: detenerse
Finnish: pysähtyä autolla
French: s’arrêter
German: hochziehen
Greek: σταματώ στην άκρη του δρόμου
Italian: fermarsi
Japanese: 止める
Korean: (차를) 세우다
Norwegian: stanse
Polish: zatrzymać
European Portuguese: encostar o carro
Romanian: a opri
Russian: останавливать(ся)
Latin American Spanish: parar
Swedish: dra upp
Thai: ทำให้หยุด
Turkish: kenara çekmek araç
Ukrainian: зупинятися
Vietnamese: dừng lại
All related terms of 'pull up'
pull up on
If someone pulls you up on something, they criticize you for something wrong that you have done.
pull up stakes
to leave one's home or temporary resting place and move on
pull your socks up
to try hard to improve your behaviour or work
pull one's socks up
to make a determined effort , esp in order to regain control of a situation
pull/bring sb up short
If something pulls you up short or brings you up short , it makes you suddenly stop what you are doing.
to pull your socks up
If you tell someone to pull their socks up , you mean that they should start working or studying harder, because they have been lazy or careless .
pull oneself up by one's bootstraps
If you have pulled yourself up by your bootstraps , you have achieved success by your own efforts , starting from very difficult circumstances and without help from anyone.
pull yourself up by your bootstraps
to improve your situation by your own efforts , without help from anyone else
to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps
If you have pulled yourself up by your bootstraps , you have achieved success by your own efforts , starting from very difficult circumstances and without help from anyone.
Chinese translation of 'pull up'
pull up
vi
(= stop)[driver, vehicle]停下 (tíngxià)
vt
(= raise)[socks, trousers]拉起 (lāqǐ)
(= uproot)[plant, weed]拔除 (báchú)
to pull up a chair拖把椅子过(過)来(來) (tuō bǎ yǐzi guòlái)
See pull
All related terms of 'pull up'
to pull up a chair
拖把椅子过(過)来(來) tuō bǎ yǐzi guòlái
to pull one's socks up
( fig ) 加紧(緊)努力 jiājǐn nǔlì
pull together
同心协(協)力 tóngxīn xiélì
pull through
( from illness ) 恢复(復)健康 huīfù jiànkāng
pull over
靠边(邊)停下 kàobiān tíngxià
pull out
( Aut : from kerb ) 开(開)出 kāichū ( when overtaking ) 超车(車) chāochē
pull off
( take off : clothes ) 脱(脫)下 tuōxià
pull into
( driver, vehicle : road, drive ) 拐(枴)入 guǎirù
pull in
( at the kerb ) 停了下来(來) tíngle xiàlái
pull down
( building ) 拆毁(毀) chāihuǐ
pull back
( retreat : troops ) 撤退 chètuì
pull away
( vehicle, driver ) 开(開)走 kāizǒu
pull apart
( separate : fighters ) 拉开(開) lākāi
(phrasal verb)
Definition
(of a motor vehicle) to stop
The cab pulled up and the driver jumped out.
Synonyms
stop
The car failed to stop at an army checkpoint.
park
He found a place to park the car.
halt
They halted at a short distance from the house.
arrive
brake
draw up
A police car drew up at the gate.
come to a halt
reach a standstill
See pull
Additional synonyms
in the sense of draw up
Definition
(of a vehicle) to come to a halt
A police car drew up at the gate.
Synonyms
halt,
stop,
pull up,
park,
brake,
stop short,
come to a stop,
come to a standstill
in the sense of halt
Definition
to come to a stop or bring (someone or something) to a stop