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.

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

Should Dante get anxious or sick, you can pull over.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 20, 2026

Road traffic must also come to a stop, with drivers required to pull over and head indoors immediately.

From BBC • Jul. 17, 2025

Never pull over on the side of the interstate.

From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin

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