pull back

verb

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

   the army pulled back

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

General Motors Co. said it would take a $1.6 billion charge and pull back on planned electric-vehicle investments after the federal government scrapped a key tax credit.

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The party has already pulled back from its previous commitment to offer an independence referendum within five years, made at the last election in 2021 under former leader Adam Price.

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The Israeli military said it had partially withdrawn troops from parts of Gaza and pulled back to an agreed position within the territory - though troops still occupy half of the Strip.

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Israel agreed to the truce on Friday and pulled back troops from several areas of the territory, prompting long columns of exhausted residents to set off for the north along a coastal road.

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Israeli forces said they had pulled back to an agreed position within the territory - though troops still occupy half of the Strip.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• confine 
• constrain 
• control 
• curb 
• curtail 
• detain 
• deter 
• govern 
• hamper 
• hinder 
• inhibit 
• keep down 
• kill 
• limit 
• prevent 
• repress 
• restrict 
• subdue 
• suppress