The Phrasal Verb 'Pull Back' Explained
- Phrasal Verbs Explained
- 4 days ago
- 10 min read
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pull back' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native.
Are you familiar with the English phrasal verb 'pull back'? Do you know any of the ways that it can be used or the meanings that it has? In this post, I will explain all of these meanings for you, starting from its most literal use through to less well-known and specialised ones. In addition, I will provide lots of example sentences for each one to show you the kinds of situations in which native speakers use them. So, without further ado, let's begin....
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
PULL BACK: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 5 |
Past tense forms | Pulled back / Pulled back |
Separable? | Yes |
Before we get started with our exploration of what the phrasal verb 'pull back means', I would first like to quickly consider the individual words 'pull' and 'back' as this may help you with your understanding of the phrasal verb meanings.
Pull - The verb 'to pull' is is a common regular English verb, whose main meaning is the idea of exerting or applying a force to move something towards oneself. It does have other meanings too, which include 'to attract', 'to cancel' and 'to injure a muscle'. In addition, 'to pull' is used in a large number of phrasal verbs, often involving a movement of some sort.
The horses pulled the carriage across London.
The moon pulls the oceans on Earth towards it, causing tides.
My last show pulled a large crowd.
The TV company has pulled the series due to low ratings.
John pulled a muscle in his leg when he was running.
Back - As a word, 'back' is extremely versatile and can be used as an adverb, adjective, verb and noun, each often with the core ideas of reversing and returning. We don't often see it in phrasal verb constructions but when we do, it can convey several different ideas depending on the context. These include concepts of 'returning' (come back, go back), responding (call back), delay (hold back) and reversal (put back).
So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the real reason that you are here, which is of course the meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull back'....
MEANING 1: To pull something in a backwards direction
CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To yank back, to tug back, to haul back |
Separable? | Yes |
There are some phrasal verbs used in everyday speech that do not have literal meanings and there are some that do. 'Pull back' is one of those that appears in the second category and the first application that we will look at in this post is when it is used in its literal sense, which is 'to pull something in a backwards direction'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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The great thing with literal meanings of phrasal verbs is that they do not need much explanation as the meaning is clear. However, you should note that when used literally 'pull back' can have two meanings: it can can either mean to pull something in a backwards direction, towards the speaker, or to pull something back tp the place where it originally was.
Let's focus first on the idea of pulling something in a backwards direction as this is the one that you tend to hear much more than the other. For this we need to define 'backwards' as the opposite direction to that which we are facing or moving in. Consequently, when we use 'pull back' in the literal sense, it is often to mean to pull something in the direction towards oneself, as people are typically facing forwards most of the time.
As a result, we can often use 'pull back' to talk about when horse riders pull the reins towards them to try and slow the horse or when a pilot of an airplane pulls the stick towards them to make it fly higher. Often, we add the additional preposition 'on' here (see below).
The rider pulled back on the reins to slow his horse.
Startled by the heat, Elaine quickly pulled her hand back from the stove.
The fisherman pulled back the net after it got caught on a rock.
Billy gently pulled back the child from the edge of the sidewalk.
Furthermore, we can also use this application of 'pull back' to talk about moving something to expose what is underneath it. This is perhaps heard the most with 'curtains' as when you open them, you pull them back to the position that they were previously in before it was dark. Other nouns that are common in this sense are 'sheet' or 'cover', as when you pull back the sheet or cover on something (e.g bed), you expose what is underneath it.
I'm going to pull the curtain back to let more light into the room.
The mechanic pulled back the hood to inspect the car's engine.
When the man pulled back the hood on his coat, I realised it was my cousin!
Jane pulled back the bedsheets and found her cat hiding there.
Of course, it is also possible to use this to talk about pulling, hauling or tugging something back to the place where it was originally. This is however not heard so much as it is not such a common action in modern life.
The farmer pulled the trailer to the field opposite and now he has to pull it back.
The contestants of the game had to pull the vehicle from the castle to the lake and then pull it back to the castle again.
MEANING 2: To withdraw
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | American English |
Potential synonyms | To pull out, to back out, to withdraw |
Separable? | Yes |
Our second meaning of the phrasal verb 'pull back' is an American usage primarily that means 'to withdraw' and is often heard in business and professional English.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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This application is usually heard in situations when a person or a business was originally planning to do something like invest in something, enter into a contract with someone or proceed with a transaction. However, after their initial agreement, they then change their minds about it as they realise that it could have negative consequences in the future, it s risky or it is not a good idea in general. This mind-changing is known as 'pulling back', or in British English it would be more common to say 'pulling out'.
To understand how we arrive at this meaning, we need to imagine our intentions or plans as things that are moving forwards into the future. When we change our mind and decide not to proceed with them, we are stopping that forward movement towards the future and therefore pulling it back towards us.
The company decided to pull back its expansion plans due to rising costs.
Investors began to pull back after the market showed signs of instability.
The firm pulled back from the deal when the risks became clearer.
Several venture capital funds pulled back their support for early-stage startups.
The retailer pulled back on international operations to focus on its core market.
After regulatory pressure increased, the bank pulled back from high-risk lending.
MEANING 3: To move away from fighting
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To pull out, to retreat, to withdraw |
Separable? | Yes |
Our third meaning of 'pull back' is one that is similar in meaning to the previous one, but this time instead of business transactions, we are thinking about soldiers and armies instead.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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Quite simply, when an army general or high ranking officer pulls back his or her troops, it means that they order them to move away from where any fighting is taking place, or away from the frontline. This may just be to a safe place that is nearby or it may be to move back completely to the army base or even their home country.
We can use this application both with and without a direct object. The following example sentences are all with a direct object (army, troops etc) with the subject of the sentence being the person or organisation that orders the pulling-back action to occur. When used this way, it is separable and the direct object can either go between 'pull' and 'back' or after them.
The general ordered the troops to pull back before nightfall.
Commanders decided to pull their units back after securing the objective.
The military pulled back its frontline units to regroup and resupply.
After deciding that war was not the answer, the President demanded that all troops on the frontline be pulled back.
In contrast, when the army or the soldiers become the subject of the sentence and nobody is ordering them to 'pull back' but it is their decision to do so, we can use it in intransitively (without a direct object) - see below. When used like this it is not separable.
The army pulled back from the border to avoid further escalation.
The soldiers pulled back to a defensive position outside the city.
After heavy resistance, the forces were forced to pull back temporarily.
The peacekeeping contingent pulled back as negotiations resumed.
Troops began to pull back once civilians had been evacuated from the area.
MEANING 4: To close the gap with a leader
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To claw back, to catch up |
Separable? | Yes |
Are you a sports fan? If you are, then this next application of 'pull back' is one that could prove to be very useful for you when talking about your favourite sports in English as it means 'to close the gap with a leader'.
Firstly, for clarification purposes when I say "close the gap", what I mean is to make the gap or the difference between the scores in a game smaller.
We normally use this application in a game or match between two different opponents, teams or sides (not usually more unless it is in reference to a specific competitor in a race). As the game progresses, one of the two players or teams will naturally score more points than the other and will therefore be in the lead. Once this initial lead has been established, we can use 'pull back' to describe when the team who is losing scores points or goals and closes the gap in the scores. To use another very common phrasal verb, they catch them up.
To give you an example, let's imagine a football game between Liverpool FC and Arsenal
FC. 30 minutes into the game, Liverpool are winning 3-0 but then in the next 30 minutes Arsenal score 2 goals and Liverpool don't score any, making the score 3-2. At this point, you could say that Arsenal are pulling it back because they have closed the gap from 3 goals at the beginning to 1 goal.
You should note that we can also use it describe when the losing team or player ends up winning the match, so in the case of the above if Arsenal scored another 2 goals and Liverpool none, we could say that "Arsenal pulled back from 3-0 down to win the game 4-3". Note the use of 'from' to highlight the score and 'down' to indicate that the team being discussed were losing (we use 'up' for the team when they are winning).
The home team pulled back just before halftime, making the score 2–1.
After a slow start, the runner pulled back two seconds on the leader in the final lap.
The team conceded a goal early but pulled back with a goal in the 70th minute.
Despite trailing most of the game, they pulled back to within one point late in the fourth quarter.
Amelia was behind after the first round but pulled back in the second to stay in contention.
The underdogs pulled back from a three-goal deficit to win the match, thrilling the crowd.
Solomon fell behind early in the race but steadily pulled back as the finish approached.
MEANING 5: To decrease
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To drop, to dip |
Separable? | No |
Lastly, we come to our fifth and final meaning of 'pull back', which is a rarer one that most of you will probably not need in your everyday English, meaning 'to decrease'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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For this usage, we are focussing specifically on the mysterious and arcane world of stocks and shares. If a price or the value of something in the stock market drops or decreases, it is often described as 'pulling back'.
Likewise, we could also use this to describe currencies as these are also things that constantly rise and fall in value.
Unlike, most of the other applications of 'pull back', this one is not separable as it is used to describe something that is not directly caused by a person's actions (although it does happen indirectly as a result of people's actions).
Technology stocks pulled back after reaching record highs last week.
The market is expected to pull back slightly following the central bank’s announcement.
Shares pulled back in afternoon trading as investors locked in profits.
After a strong rally, the index pulled back by two percent.
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'pull back'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'pull back'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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THE END
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