haul
Americanverb (used with object)
-
hauls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hauled,
past participle, past
-
hauling
present participle
-
to pull or draw with force; move by drawing; drag.
They hauled the boat up onto the beach.
-
to cart or transport; carry.
The locomotive hauled freight over the Wasatch Mountains between Ogden, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming.
-
to lower; cause to descend (often followed bydown ).
As the students gathered around the flagpole, the school custodian hauled down the flag.
-
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.
verb (used without object)
-
hauls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hauled,
past participle, past
-
hauling
present participle
-
to pull or tug with force or effort.
The sailors hauled on the oars as hard as they could.
-
to go or come to a place, especially with effort.
After much carousing in the streets, they finally hauled into the tavern.
-
to cart or transport, or to move freight commercially.
Ours is one of many Canadian trucking companies hauling south of the border.
-
Nautical.
-
to sail, as in a particular direction.
They sailed to the west of Corsica, and then hauled south again.
-
to draw or pull a vessel up on land, as for repairs or storage.
-
(of the wind) to shift to a direction closer to the heading of a vessel (opposed to veer).
-
(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
-
a strong pull or tug.
He felt a sudden haul on the other end of the rope.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Fishing.
-
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.
-
the draft of a fishing net.
-
the place where a seine is hauled.
-
-
the act of taking or acquiring something, or something taken or acquired.
The thieves' haul included several valuable paintings.
-
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
-
haul up
-
to bring before a superior for judgment or reprimand; call to account.
They were hauled up on a drug trafficking charge.
-
to come to a halt; stop.
As night was falling we finally hauled up at an old farmhouse owned by a friendly couple.
-
Nautical. to change the course of (a sailing vessel) so as to sail closer to the wind.
-
Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to come closer to the wind.
-
Nautical. (of a vessel) to come to a halt.
-
-
haul off
-
Nautical. to change a ship's course so as to get farther off from an object.
-
to withdraw; leave.
-
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
-
haul / shag ass, to get a move on; hurry.
-
haul in with, to approach.
-
haul around,
-
to brace (certain yards of a sailing vessel).
-
(of the wind) to change in a clockwise direction.
-
verb
-
to drag or draw (something) with effort
-
(tr) to transport, as in a lorry
-
nautical to alter the course of (a vessel), esp so as to sail closer to the wind
-
(tr) nautical to draw or hoist (a vessel) out of the water onto land or a dock for repair, storage, etc
-
(intr) nautical (of the wind) to blow from a direction nearer the bow Compare veer 1
-
(intr) to change one's opinion or action
noun
-
the act of dragging with effort
-
(esp of fish) the amount caught at a single time
-
something that is hauled
-
the goods obtained from a robbery
-
a distance of hauling
a three-mile haul
-
the amount of a contraband seizure
arms haul
drugs haul
-
-
in a future time
-
over a lengthy period of time
-
Synonym Usage
See draw.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
haulsimple
-
haulssimple
-
have hauledperfect
-
has hauledperfect
-
am haulingprogressive
-
are haulingprogressive
-
is haulingprogressive
-
have been haulingperfect progressive
-
has been haulingperfect progressive
Past
-
hauledsimple
-
had hauledperfect
-
was haulingprogressive
-
were haulingprogressive
-
had been haulingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing haul
"The War of the Wall" by Toni Cade Bambara
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Charlotte's Web
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Circuit
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Mariusz Stepien found his latest haul of 3,000-year-old treasure in 2022 at a spot seven miles from where he discovered the Peebles Hoard in 2020.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
So how does a single-product company thrive over the long haul?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Amazon MGM Studios’ “Verity,” starring Anne Hathaway, easily lapped “Digger,” coming in first at the domestic box office with a haul of $32.6 million.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
This prompted forensic testing of the remaining haul held inside an evidence vault at the High Court in capital Suva.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Fifteen men in harness dragged one boat at a time across the wet snow and over the ice, stopping every quarter mile to rest, before going back to haul the second boat forward.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
One hauls refrigerated produce from California to the Midwest and brings back pet food, meat and auto parts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Part of the defensiveness, no doubt, is about Rupar’s undoubted ability to make images of the enormous carry-on bag that Harp hauls around go viral.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 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
Tongue and Robinson are the first pair of England bowlers to register five-wicket hauls in the same Test innings since Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2006.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Madame Manec clatters around in the cellar and hauls up canning supplies.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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
Survivors were hauled back up in baskets into the helicopter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 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
She blew last night’s coals into a flame and hauled a large pot to the fireplace.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
His work-rate as a largely solo striker - hauling his team up and holding the ball in - was commendable.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
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
Few people manage to carry less than forty pounds, and when you’re hauling that kind of weight, believe me, never for a moment does it escape your notice.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
