pull-up

or pull·up

[ pool-uhp ]

/ ˈpʊlˌʌp /

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noun

an exercise consisting of chinning oneself, as on a horizontal bar attached at each end to a doorpost.

a flight maneuver in which an aircraft climbs sharply from level flight.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of pull-up

First recorded in 1850–55; noun use of verb phrase pull up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pull-up in a sentence

As in the past, you can pull up beside some ladies of the night and call them into your car.
I Felt Like Showering After the First-Person Sex in ‘Grand Theft Auto’|Alec Kubas-Meyer|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And then you'd whip out your iPhone and pull up that snarky tweet your friend wrote linking to the E!
Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Martin Consciously Couple|Kevin Fallon|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Where now the outdoor café tables are, right there, buses used to pull up and flush their air-brakes.
Don Carpenter Was a Novelist Both Lacerating and Forgiving|Louis B. Jones|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the Sacramento arm wrestlers does pull ups in the wilderness, using tree branches as a pull up bar.
This Arm Wrestling Reality Show Will Make You Beg for Mercy|Kevin Fallon|February 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Do your friends just pull up a picture of fat Jared from Chapter 27 to rag on you sometimes?
Jared Leto on His Brilliant Performance as a Transsexual in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’|Marlow Stern|September 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And he was so infernally insistent about it, that she was forced to pull up and get away from the post in self-defense.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
We pull up, with steaming cattle, at the old ‘White Horse,’ where lunch is spread.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries|Charles G. Harper
It is a wonder he did not pull up geraniums instead of weeds, his mind was so far away.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner
For scarcely were they over the river when a horseman barred their way, and called upon the driver to pull up.
Mistress Wilding|Rafael Sabatini
Our train did not pull up to the platform as usual, so all the passengers in turn had the pleasure of taking a three-foot leap.
Ways of War and Peace|Delia Austrian

British Dictionary definitions for pull-up

pull up

verb (adverb)

(tr) to remove by the roots

(often foll by with or on) to move level (with) or ahead (of) or cause to move level (with) or ahead (of), esp in a race

to stop

(tr) to rebuke

noun pull-up

an exercise in which the body is raised up by the arms pulling on a horizontal bar fixed above the head

British old-fashioned a roadside café

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 pull-up

pull up

Stop or cause to stop, as in He pulled up his horse, or They pulled up in front of the door. [Early 1600s]

Catch up, advance in relation to others, as in a race. For example, She was behind at the start, but she quickly pulled up. [Late 1800s] Also see pull oneself up by one's bootstraps.