Dictionary

pull up en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌpʊl ˈʌp/ (General-American) in isolation
• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, transitive) To move or bring (something) to the present location in its upright position.
   • pull up a pew
   • Pull up a bench and have a seat.
   • Pull up a chair and sit down.
2. (idiomatic, transitive) To fetch for display on a screen.
   • Pull up that website for me; it sounds quite interesting.
3. (especially, idiomatic, of a vehicle) To arrive at a halt; to approach and stop at a particular point.
   • Steven later changed his story to Korrina’s brother, Leon, saying that he stood on the porch and watched her pull up to the gate before getting out and climbing into a different vehicle being driven by someone else. 2026 August 7, Nicholas Muhoro, “Korrina Malinoski, 26, Vanished After an Argument in 1987. Less Than a Year Later, Her 11-Year-Old Daughter Disappeared Too”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 07 Aug 2026:
   • "Taxi," he called. And when one pulled up to the curb with screeching brakes he ordered, "The nearest restaurant." 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 12:
   • We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine.[…]As we reached the lodge we heard the whistle, and we backed up against one side of the platform as the train pulled up at the other. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
   • Pull up to that curb slowly; you don't want to scratch that other car.
   • At every station, bundles of newspapers, boxes of fish, and other commodities had to be unloaded, and, as most of the platforms are rather short, the train usually had to pull up twice. 1950 January, Arthur F. Beckenham, “With British Railways to the Far North”, in Railway Magazine, page 5:
   • The horse had galloped over the sand-ridge to the beach and there pulled up, nostrils quivering at an insult to its trained intelligence. 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 217:
   • I'm talking pedicure on our toes, toes / Trying on all our clothes, clothes / Boys blowing up our phones, phones / Drop-topping, playing our favorite CD / Pulling up to the parties / Trying to get a little bit tipsy. 2009, Kesha, Tik Tok:
4. (broadly, especially, idiomatic, of a vehicle, slang) To arrive at a halt; to approach and stop at a particular point. ▸ To travel somewhere, especially to meet someone else; to come to.
   • I'm pulling up to the club tonight, want to join?
   • Kanye's gotten into some scrapes before and normally when he's in trouble, I pull up immediately. This time I was like, you know what? Let me see what's gonna happen first. 2022 November 13, Dave Chappelle (quoted), Sarah Grant, “'SNL': Watch Dave Chappelle on Kanye West, Kyrie Irving, and Why America Isn't Really Over Trump”, in Rolling Stone:
   • You can always pull up to your favorite national chain such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts who is offering a free cup with any purchase on Wednesday or any fast food restaurant. 2021 September 21, Tina Adkins, “September 29 is National Coffee Day! Here's some local places for the best coffee in town!”, in New Bern Sun Journal, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2022:
   • Staying true to form, Thompson took to Instagram on Saturday to announce his return. Sharing a clip from "Space Jam," Thompson captioned the post, "How I'm pulling up to chase [Center] tomorrow." 2022 January 9, “NBA players celebrate Klay Thompson's return after more than two years”, in ESPN:
5. (idiomatic) To cause (a horse) to stop when riding.
6. (idiomatic) To cause (a person or vehicle) to stop.
   • "Well, sir, we were always pulled up on Thursday; practically always, you may say. It got to be quite a saying among those who used the train regular; they used to look out for it. […] I suppose it wasn't thought worth while to alter us in the time-table, so we most always had to wait outside Three Deep tunnel for a west-bound electric to make good." 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
   • "People pull me up in the street to ask if I have room for their son, daughter, sister or cousin to come down to go to school[.]" 2021 February 14, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 16, column 3:
7. (idiomatic, rare) To improve; to get better; to lift one's game.
   • A local doctor had bought one canvas and but for that lucky chance he would have been out of pocket. Now he was muttering grumpily at Edmund, "Have to get something better this trip, Edmund. Got to pull up somehow or buyers will be turnin' us down. Sales been gettin' worse and worse these last years." 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 17:
8. (ambitransitive, idiomatic) To raise (the nose of an aircraft)
   • You've deliberately kept up more airspeed because of the stiff crosswind, but you've overdone it—airspeed is too high to land. You pull up the nose a bit to reduce it. 1998 July, Edward Packard, Andrea Packard, Mayday! (Choose Your Own Adventure), number 184, New York; Toronto; London; Syndey; Auckland: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 26:
   • Terrain, terrain! Pull up! Pull up!
   • It was, of course, imperative to react rapidly, to pull up the plane in a split second after bomb dropping, flying across the tank so as to avoid being hit by the explosion of our own bomb. 1978 November, Paul-Werner Hozzel, "Conversations with a Stuka Pilot" Conference, page 118:
9. (idiomatic, qualifier:ballet) To adopt a posture with straight back and shoulders down, but ribcage and sternum lifted.
10. (idiomatic, transitive) To intentionally take a racehorse out of a race, usually as a result of the horse's tiredness or concerns of potential injury (in reference to the act of pulling up the reins).
11. (Australia, idiomatic) To fare after a party, an illness, or a strenuous effort; to attempt to recover.
    • How'd you pull up this morning?
12. (UK, idiomatic) To admonish or criticize someone for their actions.
    • I was pulled up by a male reader who had been a victim of domestic abuse, for using the word 'women' instead of 'victims'. He rightly pointed out that men are victims of abuse too. 2021 May 5, Christian Wolmar, “Scheme available to any victims of domestic abuse”, in RAIL, number 930, page 44:
    • At 4pm, the phone went. It was The Sun: 'We hear your daughter's been expelled for cheating at her school exams...' She'd made a remark to a friend at the end of the German exam and had been pulled up for talking. As they left the exam room, she muttered that the teacher was a 'twat'. He heard and flipped⁠—a pretty stupid thing to do, knowing the kids were tired and tense after exams. Instead of dropping it, the teacher complained to the Head and Deb was carpeted. 1992 June 24, Edwina Currie, Diary:
    • My coursework began to suffer and my parents pulled me up on it and said we are not paying for you to get off your head every night. 2014, April De Angelis, Wild East:
13. (idiomatic) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pull, up.
    • In this May 20, 2006, Barbaro is steadied[sic, "by" is missing] a track worker as jockey Edgar Prado looks on after he pulled up the horse with a fractured right rear leg during the 131st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. 2016 May 19, Paul Vigna, “Barbaro's ill-fated run 10 years ago in the Preakness: A look back”, in PennLive:
14. (ambitransitive, idiomatic) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pull, up. ▸ To lift (something or oneself) upwards or vertically.
    • By the 11th, however, feeling between the rival companies had penetrated down to the "lower ranks," for on that day some over-zealous officials of the Midland caused the Lancashire & Yorkshire metals to be pulled up at Methley Junction. 1957 April 14, K. Field and J. P. Wilson, “The Junctions at Methley”, in Railway Magazine, page 280:
    • I pull up the lever when I want to make my car go into first gear.
    • Pull up to climb the rope.
15. (idiomatic) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pull, up. ▸ To pull forward.
    • Pull the car up a little so you don't block his driveway.
    • Pull up a little so you don't block his driveway.

Forms

Antonyms

push over

Deriveds

pull up on

Synonyms

reach · link up · roll up · meet up

Translations (16)

uk підніма́ти (lift vertically) · pt puxar para cima (lift vertically) · uk ви́тягти (lift vertically) · mi kōwhiti (lift vertically) · eo kuspi (lift vertically) · uk підня́ти (lift vertically) · bg изтеглям (lift vertically) · uk витяга́ти (lift vertically) · ja 引き上げる (lift vertically) · uk діста́ти (lift vertically) · pl podciągnąć (lift vertically) · unm amwikëna (lift vertically) · ga tarraing suas (lift vertically) · uk дістава́ти (lift vertically) · fr soulever (lift vertically) · pl podciągać (lift vertically)