haul

American  

[hawl] / hɔl /

verb (used with object)

• hauls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hauled,
  past participle,  past
• hauling
  present participle

1. to pull or draw with force; move by drawing; drag.

   They hauled the boat up onto the beach.

2. to cart or transport; carry.

   The locomotive hauled freight over the Wasatch Mountains between Ogden, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming.

3. to lower; cause to descend (often followed bydown ).

   As the students gathered around the flagpole, the school custodian hauled down the flag.

4. to bring before an authority (often followed by before, in, to, into, etc.).

   He was hauled before the judge.

   She hauled me into the principal’s office.

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verb (used without object)

• hauls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hauled,
  past participle,  past
• hauling
  present participle

1. to pull or tug with force or effort.

   The sailors hauled on the oars as hard as they could.

2. to go or come to a place, especially with effort.

   After much carousing in the streets, they finally hauled into the tavern.

3. to cart or transport, or to move freight commercially.

   Ours is one of many Canadian trucking companies hauling south of the border.

4. Nautical.

   1. to sail, as in a particular direction.

      They sailed to the west of Corsica, and then hauled south again.

   2. to draw or pull a vessel up on land, as for repairs or storage.

   3. (of the wind) to shift to a direction closer to the heading of a vessel (opposed to veer).

   4. (of the wind) to change direction, shift, or veer (often followed by round orto ).

      During the early morning hours the wind hauled northward and increased in intensity, with accompanying heavy seas.

noun

• hauls
  plural

1. a strong pull or tug.

   He felt a sudden haul on the other end of the rope.

2. an act or instance of transporting something, or the load or quantity transported.

   You have so little stuff to move, I can probably do it in two hauls with my pickup.

3. the distance or route over which anything is transported or carried.

   I’ve been using this truck for a year now on a weekly 30-mile haul.

4. Fishing.

   1. the quantity of fish taken at one draft of the net.

      We got such a huge haul of fish that we could hardly carry them home.

   2. the draft of a fishing net.

   3. the place where a seine is hauled.

5. the act of taking or acquiring something, or something taken or acquired.

   The thieves' haul included several valuable paintings.

6. Digital Technology. a video, photo, or report of something taken or acquired.

   He shops the flea markets over the weekend and then posts his haul on Monday afternoon.

verb phrase

1. haul up

   1. to bring before a superior for judgment or reprimand; call to account.

      They were hauled up on a drug trafficking charge.

   2. to come to a halt; stop.

      As night was falling we finally hauled up at an old farmhouse owned by a friendly couple.

   3. Nautical. to change the course of (a sailing vessel) so as to sail closer to the wind.

   4. Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to come closer to the wind.

   5. Nautical. (of a vessel) to come to a halt.

2. haul off

   1. Nautical. to change a ship's course so as to get farther off from an object.

   2. to withdraw; leave.

   3. Informal. to draw back the arm in order to strike; prepare to deal a blow.

      He hauled off and struck the insolent lieutenant a blow to the chin.

idioms

1. haul / shag ass, to get a move on; hurry.

2. haul in with, to approach.

3. haul around,

   1. to brace (certain yards of a sailing vessel).

   2. (of the wind) to change in a clockwise direction.

haul British  

/ hɔːl /

verb

1. to drag or draw (something) with effort

2. (tr) to transport, as in a lorry

3. nautical to alter the course of (a vessel), esp so as to sail closer to the wind

4. (tr) nautical to draw or hoist (a vessel) out of the water onto land or a dock for repair, storage, etc

5. (intr) nautical (of the wind) to blow from a direction nearer the bow Compare veer 1

6. (intr) to change one's opinion or action

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noun

1. the act of dragging with effort

2. (esp of fish) the amount caught at a single time

3. something that is hauled

4. the goods obtained from a robbery

5. a distance of hauling

   a three-mile haul

6. the amount of a contraband seizure

   arms haul

   drugs haul

7. 1. in a future time

   2. over a lengthy period of time

haul More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing haul

• long haul
• rake (haul) over the coals

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Synonym Usage

See draw.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rehaul
  verb
• unhauled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hauls
  plural

Participles

• hauling
  present
• hauled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• haul
  simple
• hauls
  simple
• have hauled
  perfect
• has hauled
  perfect
• am hauling
  progressive
• are hauling
  progressive
• is hauling
  progressive
• have been hauling
  perfect progressive
• has been hauling
  perfect progressive

Past

• hauled
  simple
• had hauled
  perfect
• was hauling
  progressive
• were hauling
  progressive
• had been hauling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will haul
  simple
• will have hauled
  perfect
• will be hauling
  progressive
• will have been hauling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of haul

First recorded in 1550–60; earlier hall, variant of hale ²

Explanation

To haul is to move or take something, usually big and heavy, and put it somewhere else. If you've ever moved to a new house, then you know that having to haul all your stuff there can really take the joy out of moving into a new place. You'll want to reserve haul for situations in which carrying something takes a lot of effort and ain't a lot of fun. You don't haul a sack of feathers, for example. You haul a bag of boulders, or a box of books. Haul is usually a verb, but you can also use it as a noun, when you're talking about lot of something that you caught or won. We went digging for clams—look at our haul! After winning at blackjack, take your haul and hit the road. Don't risk losing it all on roulette.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

haul hauls hauled hauling

In addition to Mosaku’s Academy Award nomination for supporting actress, “Sinners’” Oscars haul included wins for filmmaker Ryan Coogler, star Michael B. Jordan, cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw and composer Ludwig Göransson.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

In the U.S., law-enforcement officials have tied Chinese actors to breaches involving hundreds of millions of records—a haul of intelligence even a bureaucracy as massive as China’s would struggle to sift.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

He spent nearly NZ$6,000 in a single day on a haul of goods which include food, children's clothing, gardening supplies, fishing gear, knives and lighters, among other things, the inquiry found.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

While surprises are always possible, Rosen predicts a major awards haul for "Widow's Bay," surpassing all competitors including the final season of the perennial favorite "Hacks."

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

It would have been easier just to let me haul myself on board, but I accepted their help as part of our getting acquainted, and my welcome back to the world of humans.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

On YouTube, L.A.-based influencer Emma Chamberlain’s thrift store hauls went viral.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

But smaller hauls are spread widely, with more than 4,000 California-based startups having raised capital in 2026, according to PitchBook.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

When Albano, a full-time content creator, posts her school supply hauls on social media, a deluge of messages come in from moms desperately asking Albano to donate items to their kids.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

He showed plenty of attacking promise last season, averaging more than five FPL points per start and producing four double-figure hauls.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

For our next meeting, a minivan taxi hauls my grandmother and five big trunks to Carver School.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

A survivor who was hauled to safety on a rescue boat had described the frantic cries on board the passenger-cargo vessel when the fire erupted on Wednesday evening.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Watch for the spikes in produce, meat and other perishable foods that have to be harvested and hauled on diesel-powered farm equipment and shipped on diesel-powered trucks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

“We’re going to have to allow hauled water,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Tourists hauled their suitcases over the doorstep into the fray, fresh off a flight or rushing to make one, if only they could get one last chicken finger first.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

And she grabbed him by the wrist and hauled him through the water.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

During Season 2, they were far more competitive, hauling in behemoths weighing 45 and 58 pounds.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

The 105 surviving crew members abandoned the vessels and began a desperate attempt to reach safety, traveling along the west coast of King William Island, Nunavut, while hauling boats on sleds.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

He’s been installing new technology at Pierce to help reposition loggers and redraw hauling routes since Riceboro closed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Pro tip: In the months leading up to the move, I also saved boxes from deliveries I received, instead of hauling them downstairs to the recycling bin.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Back and forth, back and forth we went: Perilee hauling water up from the well, and the rest of us forming a bucket brigade.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Related Words

• bring
• carry
• cart
• drag
• heave
• hoist
• lift
• lug
• pack
• rake
• remove
• ride
• tote
• tow
• transport