pullback
the act of pulling back, especially a retreat or a strategic withdrawal of troops; pullout.
that which pulls something back or impedes its forward movement.
Machinery. a device for pulling a moving part to its original position.
Origin of pullback
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pullback in a sentence
It is conceivable, if highly unlikely, that most Palestinians will try to pull back from the brink.
Intifada 3.0: Growing Unrest and a Plot to Kill an Israeli Minister | Creede Newton | November 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYou go right straight into the inferno, and when you get older, you pull back.
The Stacks: The Eyes of Winter: Paul Newman at 70 | Peter Richmond | October 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA recent Wall Street Journal poll showed that a record number of Americans want to pull back from the world stage.
Can John Bolton Use Benghazi to Win an Election? | David Freedlander | July 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Kremlin also announced it was starting to pull back an estimated 40,000 troops massed on the border.
Every time we pull back the curtain on the government voyeurs, they are forced to back down—and quickly.
I found I could pull back the bolts easily enough and unhook the great chains; but the door was locked, and the key was gone!
Dracula | Bram StokerHow he can scull ahead at such a speed is a mystery, and at once pull back when there is danger.
From the Thames to the Tiber | J. WardleThe manner of striking the bell was to pull back the log several feet, then let go the rope, holding the log after the rebound.
Japanese Fairy World | William Elliot GriffisOnce he had a sudden inspiration to pull back his control-stick.
'Green Balls' | Paul BewsherI almost want to pull back my head to avoid having my nose taken off.
'Green Balls' | Paul Bewsher
British Dictionary definitions for pull back
to return or be returned to a rearward position by pulling: the army pulled back
the act of pulling back
a device for restraining the motion of a mechanism, etc, or for returning it to its original position
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with pullback
Retreat, as in The troops gradually pulled back. [Mid-1500s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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