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Synonyms

pull back

British  

verb

  1. to return or be returned to a rearward position by pulling

    the army pulled back
"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

noun

  1. the act of pulling back

  2. 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
pull back Idioms  

  1. Retreat, as in The troops gradually pulled back. [Mid-1500s]

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.

Another risk is that household wealth has been buoyed by years of equity gains, and a sustained selloff could cause consumers to pull back, undermining an engine of economic growth.

From The Wall Street Journal

Foreign automakers pulled back from sedans as well, killing dozens of models in the past decade, such as the Toyota Avalon and Nissan Maxima.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s likely no coincidence the S&P 500 pulled back where it did.

From Barron's

It’s likely no coincidence the S&P 500 pulled back where it did.

From Barron's

Pili pulled back and looked at him, her eyes shimmering with tears and pride.

From Literature

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.