haul

American  

[hawl] / hɔl /

verb (used with object)

• hauls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hauled,
  past participle,  past
• hauling
  present participle

1. to pull or draw with force; move by drawing; drag.

   They hauled the boat up onto the beach.

2. to cart or transport; carry.

   The locomotive hauled freight over the Wasatch Mountains between Ogden, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming.

3. to lower; cause to descend (often followed bydown ).

   As the students gathered around the flagpole, the school custodian hauled down the flag.

4. to bring before an authority (often followed by before, in, to, into, etc.).

   He was hauled before the judge.

   She hauled me into the principal’s office.

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verb (used without object)

• hauls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hauled,
  past participle,  past
• hauling
  present participle

1. to pull or tug with force or effort.

   The sailors hauled on the oars as hard as they could.

2. to go or come to a place, especially with effort.

   After much carousing in the streets, they finally hauled into the tavern.

3. to cart or transport, or to move freight commercially.

   Ours is one of many Canadian trucking companies hauling south of the border.

4. Nautical.

   1. to sail, as in a particular direction.

      They sailed to the west of Corsica, and then hauled south again.

   2. to draw or pull a vessel up on land, as for repairs or storage.

   3. (of the wind) to shift to a direction closer to the heading of a vessel (opposed to veer).

   4. (of the wind) to change direction, shift, or veer (often followed by round orto ).

      During the early morning hours the wind hauled northward and increased in intensity, with accompanying heavy seas.

noun

• hauls
  plural

1. a strong pull or tug.

   He felt a sudden haul on the other end of the rope.

2. an act or instance of transporting something, or the load or quantity transported.

   You have so little stuff to move, I can probably do it in two hauls with my pickup.

3. the distance or route over which anything is transported or carried.

   I’ve been using this truck for a year now on a weekly 30-mile haul.

4. Fishing.

   1. the quantity of fish taken at one draft of the net.

      We got such a huge haul of fish that we could hardly carry them home.

   2. the draft of a fishing net.

   3. the place where a seine is hauled.

5. the act of taking or acquiring something, or something taken or acquired.

   The thieves' haul included several valuable paintings.

6. Digital Technology. a video, photo, or report of something taken or acquired.

   He shops the flea markets over the weekend and then posts his haul on Monday afternoon.

verb phrase

1. haul up

   1. to bring before a superior for judgment or reprimand; call to account.

      They were hauled up on a drug trafficking charge.

   2. to come to a halt; stop.

      As night was falling we finally hauled up at an old farmhouse owned by a friendly couple.

   3. Nautical. to change the course of (a sailing vessel) so as to sail closer to the wind.

   4. Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to come closer to the wind.

   5. Nautical. (of a vessel) to come to a halt.

2. haul off

   1. Nautical. to change a ship's course so as to get farther off from an object.

   2. to withdraw; leave.

   3. Informal. to draw back the arm in order to strike; prepare to deal a blow.

      He hauled off and struck the insolent lieutenant a blow to the chin.

idioms

1. haul / shag ass, to get a move on; hurry.

2. haul in with, to approach.

3. haul around,

   1. to brace (certain yards of a sailing vessel).

   2. (of the wind) to change in a clockwise direction.

haul British  

/ hɔːl /

verb

1. to drag or draw (something) with effort

2. (tr) to transport, as in a lorry

3. nautical to alter the course of (a vessel), esp so as to sail closer to the wind

4. (tr) nautical to draw or hoist (a vessel) out of the water onto land or a dock for repair, storage, etc

5. (intr) nautical (of the wind) to blow from a direction nearer the bow Compare veer 1

6. (intr) to change one's opinion or action

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noun

1. the act of dragging with effort

2. (esp of fish) the amount caught at a single time

3. something that is hauled

4. the goods obtained from a robbery

5. a distance of hauling

   a three-mile haul

6. the amount of a contraband seizure

   arms haul

   drugs haul

7. 1. in a future time

   2. over a lengthy period of time

haul More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing haul

• long haul
• rake (haul) over the coals

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Synonym Usage

See draw.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rehaul
  verb
• unhauled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hauls
  plural

Participles

• hauling
  present
• hauled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• haul
  simple
• hauls
  simple
• have hauled
  perfect
• has hauled
  perfect
• am hauling
  progressive
• are hauling
  progressive
• is hauling
  progressive
• have been hauling
  perfect progressive
• has been hauling
  perfect progressive

Past

• hauled
  simple
• had hauled
  perfect
• was hauling
  progressive
• were hauling
  progressive
• had been hauling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will haul
  simple
• will have hauled
  perfect
• will be hauling
  progressive
• will have been hauling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of haul

First recorded in 1550–60; earlier hall, variant of hale ²

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Explanation

To haul is to move or take something, usually big and heavy, and put it somewhere else. If you've ever moved to a new house, then you know that having to haul all your stuff there can really take the joy out of moving into a new place. You'll want to reserve haul for situations in which carrying something takes a lot of effort and ain't a lot of fun. You don't haul a sack of feathers, for example. You haul a bag of boulders, or a box of books. Haul is usually a verb, but you can also use it as a noun, when you're talking about lot of something that you caught or won. We went digging for clams—look at our haul! After winning at blackjack, take your haul and hit the road. Don't risk losing it all on roulette.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

haul hauls hauled hauling

Instead, the Jets are armed with the type of haul that could help resurrect them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Under new rules announced last week, Airbnb will generally prohibit hosts from requiring guests to wash and put away dishes, strip beds or haul garbage off-site for reservations booked on or after November 20.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

DC Studio’s body horror “Clayface” topped the box office, with a haul of $24 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

It shows that if you’re in it for the long haul, at least historically, that has been the case.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

I reached for the rope without thinking, trying to seize it from Sender’s hands so that I could haul Yakov up and keep him from drowning.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

The spectacular heist illustrates the ability of North Korean cybercriminals to bypass surveillance systems and land enormous hauls that underwrite Pyongyang’s growing nuclear program.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Broadcasters also lost interest in promoting the show as its ratings and their Emmy hauls declined amid the rise of HBO, cable channels AMC and FX, and streamers, including Netflix.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Part of the defensiveness, no doubt, is about Rupar’s undoubted ability to make images of the enormous carry-on bag that Harp hauls around go viral.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026

But smaller hauls are spread widely, with more than 4,000 California-based startups having raised capital in 2026, according to PitchBook.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

She goes back to the car and hauls out Moonie’s dog bed.

From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor

The Chargers’ frustration could be summed up in one play: Receiver Ladd McConkey hauled in Herbert’s desperation 54-yard pass on the final snap of the second quarter ... at the one-yard line.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Berry rushed to set up a GiveSendGo crowdfunding campaign that quickly hauled in more than $30,000 to cover legal fees.

From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026

Beneath rotating wind turbines on Sri Lanka's Mannar peninsula, a fishing net is hauled up the beach by tractor winches and 20 men, but once again the catch is meagre.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

Dawn Gratz and Jon Corbett hauled their bikes there on a trailer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

The crew chucked the stores and equipment up, climbed up onto the ice, and hauled the boats after them.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

The trucks operate 24 hours a day hauling up to 90 tons of coal, stopping only for six minutes to swap out their batteries for a fresh set.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Talarico posted another record quarter amid Paxton’s SLF-powered ad surge, hauling in $64 million between July and September — a third-quarter record among all U.S.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

Both gear types are associated with high levels of waste, routinely hauling in large volumes of non-target species.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

His work-rate as a largely solo striker - hauling his team up and holding the ball in - was commendable.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

I knew it was he who wanted a break from hauling me out, and also that it would only last till we moved to our next workstation on the lake.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

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Related Words

• bring
• carry
• cart
• drag
• heave
• hoist
• lift
• lug
• pack
• rake
• remove
• ride
• tote
• tow
• transport

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