Pulls

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /pʊlz/

Definitions

1. To apply force to bring an object closer or move it in a desired direction ; to remove or take out something by exerting effort or force ; to draw in attention or interest from others
2. To tug or drag something toward oneself or another place ; to extract something forcibly or with effort ; to captivate or engage people's focus or curiosity
3. To use strength or effort to shift an item nearer ; to forcibly withdraw or detach something ; to attract or garner interest and attention

Etymology: "Pulls" is simply the third-person singular present form of "pull," so the story belongs to the verb. English "pull" comes from Old English "pullian," meaning to pull, draw, tug, or pluck off, and it shares ancestry with Middle Dutch "polen," meaning to peel or strip, and Low German "pulen," meaning to pick or strip off husks. That cluster of senses hints that the earliest idea was less about hauling a heavy load than about pulling something loose from its covering. The word's ultimate origin is uncertain, so its earlier history is hard to trace beyond the Germanic languages. Its survival in Middle English as "pullen" shows how deeply it rooted in everyday speech, and the noun "pull," meaning a tug or a hold, grew directly out of the verb.

Synonyms: yanks, tugs

Antonyms: pushes, shoves