pull up
phrasal verb·7 senses·particle up
Meanings
Stop a vehicle or come to a halt
Why “up”? The action stops. With give up, up can show that someone stops trying.
“He pulled up at the lights.”
“The taxi pulled up outside our hotel.”
Lift something upward by pulling
Why “up”? Movement goes from low to high.
“She pulled the blind up.”
“He pulled the bucket up from the well.”
Stop and gently rebuke someone
“The teacher pulled him up for the comment.”
“The manager pulled us up for arriving late.”
Display data or a record on a screen
Why “up”? Rising into view. What comes up becomes present and visible.
“Pull up the customer's account.”
“Can you pull up the map on your phone?”
Improve a position or score quickly
Why “up”? More of something is higher. Quantity, intensity and speed all rise.
“She pulled up to second place on the last lap.”
“The team pulled up from sixth to third in one week.”
Move a chair closer so you can sit
Why “up”? Filling to the top. Reaching the upper limit means finishing.
“Pull up a chair and join us.”
“She pulled up a stool beside the counter.”
Pull plants out of the ground by the roots
“He pulled up the weeds.”
“We pulled up the old tomato plants after summer.”
Don't confuse with
Test yourself
“He pulled up at the lights.” What does it mean?
Nearby in the meaning map
Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.
pull down
A contrast learners often mix up
Demolish a building by force
pull in
A contrast learners often mix up
(of a vehicle or train) arrive and stop; Attract a large audience or amount of money; Drive to the side of the road and stop; (of police) take someone into custody for questioning
pull off
A contrast learners often mix up
Succeed at something difficult
pull over
A contrast learners often mix up
Draw a covering across the top; Move a vehicle to the side of the road and stop
add up
Same up pattern: finishing
Combine into a larger total; Make sense or seem true
back up
Same up pattern: increase
Make a digital copy of data as a safeguard; Support someone's claim, story or position; Move backward along the same path; (of traffic or water) accumulate because flow is blocked
beef up
Same up pattern: increase
Strengthen or reinforce
blow up
Same up pattern: appearance
Explode or be destroyed by an explosion; Inflate something by filling it with air; Suddenly become very angry; Enlarge a photograph or image; (of a storm or argument) develop quickly into something serious
Practice “pull up” in Sink In
Drill this and 600+ phrasal verbs with spaced repetition, organised by particle.