pull over

British

verb

(intr) (of a motor vehicle, driver, etc) to halt at the side of the road
(tr) (of a police officer) to instruct (the driver of a motor vehicle) to halt at the side of the road

"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 over Idioms

Bring a vehicle to the side of the road; also, instruct a motorist to stop. For example, We pulled over to ask a passerby for directions, or The state trooper pulled the speeding motorist over. [First half of 1900s]

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:

pull over

Mercedes asked him to pull over immediately after crossing the line, and he parked at Turn One, in an attempt to avoid damaging the engine.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

It is a bright morning, the heat rising with the sun, as drivers pull over and grab cups to go.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

It's not like you can drive your car down the road, get a flat tire, pull over, fix it and keep going.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

But these kinds of trips still annoy my less-tech-enthusiastic spouse, because she can’t just pull over at the next exit to recharge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

I had the driver pull over at a store that sold calling cards.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023