The Phrasal Verb 'Pull In' Explained
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pull in' 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.
This week's post on Phrasal Verbs Explained is all about the wonderful phrasal verb 'pull in'. This often-neglected phrasal verb is one that can be used to talk about a range of different topics which include fishing, driving and earning money. In the post, I will explain all five of its meanings for you and for each one I will also give you lots of example sentences to show you how and when to use them and by the end of the post your knowledge of all things to do with with 'pull in' will be expert level. So, let's make a start and find out exactly what the phrasal verb 'pull in' is all about....
QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'pull in' mean?The phrasal verb 'pull in' has five main meanings in English....
Keep reading to learn how to use each one! |
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
PULL IN: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 5 |
Past tense forms | Pulled in / Pulled in |
Separable? | Yes |
To start, I have a simple question for you: how well do you know the words 'pull' and 'in' by themselves? Let's take a moment to briefly consider what they mean and their significance in phrasal verbs....
Pull - The verb 'to pull' is a common regular verb in English whose primary meaning is to cause someone or something to come towards, or to follow behind you. This is often by using your arms and hands or by using something powerful. Alternatively, it can also just be when caused by a force such as attraction. 'To pull' is featured in a lot of different phrasal verbs, many of which are to do with driving and vehicles as you will see later in this post.
You need to pull the string to turn the light on
The horses pulled the cart along the road.
I was pulled towards the light by an invisible force.
In - The prepositional particle 'in' is one that we regularly see in phrasal verbs and can be used to add a variety of different meanings and ideas to them. Many of these ideas are derived directly from the core meanings that we get with the word 'in' and these include a movement inside (go in), joining something (chip in) and filling a hole or space (fill in). In addition, 'in' can also add other ideas to phrasal verbs like restriction (hem in), remaining at home (stay in) and focus (zoom in on).
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull in'....
MEANING 1: To move something towards you
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To reel in, to draw in |
Separable? | Yes |
The first of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull in' that we will look at is the most obvious one and is simply just the literal meaning of the two words combined: 'to move something towards you'....
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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We can essentially divide this first application into two parts; physical objects and time.
If we first consider physical objects, we are concerned here with the idea of physically pulling something so that is moves closer us. In addition, this can also be someone or something that is pulled by a force from the exterior of something to the interior.
When I think of this literal usage, the first thing that comes to mind is boats, particularly fishing boats. If a fisherman (or woman) catches a fish on the line, they will then need to use the rod to pull the fish towards (and into) the boat and for this we can use 'pull in'. Another common phrasal verb for this specific action is 'reel in'.
It can work the other way around too. I remember once when I was younger and I was too scared to jump into a swimming pool. A friend of mine who was already in the pool grabbed my hand and pulled me in. I forgave him as I ended up having a great time!
Aside from these watery examples, we can use 'pull in' with most nouns that we use 'in' with, particularly if they refer to a physical place e.g.a building or a room.
Example sentences....
The fishermen pulled in their nets and checked what they had caught.
Claire pulled in the fishing line slowly.
We pulled the cable in through the open window.
I pulled the blanket in so that it wasn't hanging over the edge of the bed.
Joe grabbed Kelly's arm and pulled her in through the doorway.
Natasha opened the door, took his hand and pulled him in.
It is also possible to use this first application with certain body parts, namely arms, legs and stomachs. For example, if your arm or your leg is extended and is blocking somewhere, you may pull it in towards the rest of your body to clear the way. Also, if you think that you look fat or overweight, you may pull in your stomach to make you look a bit thinner, especially when someone is taking a photo of you (I used to do this when I was younger as I was a bit overweight).
Example sentences....
Alex pulled his legs in to make room for the lady to get past.
Henrietta pulled in her stomach as she posed for the photograph.
The gymnast pulled his arms and legs in to achieve maximum speed.
The other thing that we can use this first application of 'pull in' with is time. Sadly, we are not able to control or change time itself, however we can use 'pull in' to refer to when we bring the date of something forward so that it is closer to now. For example, if a work project becomes more urgent, your boss may pull in the deadline date by a month e.g. from August to July. Likewise, if you need to update dates on a system and you amend them to a date that is closer to the present time, you can say that you are pulling the dates in.
Example sentences....
We've pulled in the deadline by two weeks.
They've pulled in the launch date from October to September.
The delivery date has been pulled in by a week.
MEANING 2: To stop a vehicle
CEFR Language Level | B2 - To stop a vehicle |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere, common in British English |
Potential synonyms | To arrive, to come in, to draw in, to park up |
Separable? | No |
Let's move on now to the second of our five meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull in' and this one is used to talk about vehicles stopping. Like the previous application, this one can also be divided into two sections: trains and other road vehicles.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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Firstly, let's focus on trains. We use 'pull in' to describe when trains arrive at a station, slow down and stop at a platform. If you have read my post about 'draw in' (link here), you may remember that we can also use this phrasal verb to describe the same thing, however you should know that 'pull in' is the more common of the two in everyday speech.
On a grammatical note, this usage is intransitive and there is no direct object and therefore it is not a separable usage. Note that if you want to specify the destination or end point where the train stops, 'in' becomes 'into'.
Example sentences....
The train pulled in five minutes late.
Our train pulled in just after nine o'clock.
The train was just pulling in as we reached the platform.
We watched the train pull in to the station.
As the train pulled in, everyone picked up their bags.
The train pulled into the station right on time.
Let's now turn our attention to cars and other road vehicles. When we use the phrasal verb 'pull in' with these, the meaning changes slightly as it means to move to the side of a road and stop. In addition, it can also be used to describe when a car is driven into a parking space and parked there. Note that this usage with cars is primarily British English.
Can you pull in just after the traffic lights?
The driver pulled in at the side of the road to check the map.
I pulled in to let the ambulance pass.
The taxi pulled in outside the hotel and we got out.
Lesley pulled in behind a parked car and switched off the engine.
The gates were open, so I pulled in and parked next to the house.
MEANING 3: To arrest someone
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potental synonyms | To arrest, to take in |
Separable? | Yes |
Our next application of the phrasal verb 'pull in' is one for all of the naughty people out there as it is a fairly informal way of saying 'to arrest someone'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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To clarify, if the police pull a person in, it means that they arrest them and take them to the police station to be questioned about a crime that they are suspected of committing. It doesn't mean that the suspect did commit the crime, just that the police believe that they did and want to speak to them more.
As you may have noticed already, this is a separable usage and is comparable to the phrasal verb 'take in', however I would say that 'take in' is more common and more formal. Note that when the focus of the sentence is on the criminal, it is common to use the passive voice (get taken in / be taken in) with this application.
Hopefully this application of 'pull in' will never be one that affects you personally, however it may be one that you come across in movies, TV series and books.
Example sentences....
The police pulled him in for questioning.
They pulled in two suspects in connection with the robbery.
The police pulled the suspect in after receiving a tip-off.
Detectives pulled him in for questioning but released him later that day.
They've pulled in several people in connection with the attack.
The police pulled the suspect in as soon as they had enough evidence.
He was pulled in by the police after witnesses identified him.
I got pulled in by the police to answer some questions.
If you pull someone in for this, you'd better have enough evidence to support it.
MEANING 4: To attract people
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To attract, to draw in |
Separable? | Yes |
For the first three applications of 'pull in', we've looked at various ways that we can use it to talk about physical force to move something to a desired place. However, for this fourth usage it's more of an idea of an invisible, non-physical force as it means 'to attract people'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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Let me first of all clarify that when I use the verb 'to attract' here, it is not in the sense of sexual attraction (although it could be in some cases). Instead, we are talking about attracting people to go to or to visit somewhere, usually in large numbers. Typically, we use this application with public events like concerts and sporting meets.
For example, recently I was lucky enough to go and watch the European Athletics Championships, which was so much fun. There were a lot of people there, however it was the first night of the games and there were quite a lot of empty seats. As the week went on, I noticed on TV that there were more and more people attending and by the final weekend the event had pulled in a huge crowd and there were barely any empty seats.
In addition to public events, something else that is often used with this application is shopping and sales. For example, Black Friday often pulls in a huge number of shoppers looking for bargains and good deals to malls and stores.
The key idea with this application is that something attracts large amounts of people like a magnet. It is a separable phrasal verb but we don't tend to use it separably very often.
Examples sentences....
The new exhibition is pulling in huge crowds.
The festival pulled in thousands of visitors last year.
The restaurant's new menu has pulled in more customers.
The sale pulled in hundreds of shoppers over the weekend.
The band pulled in a large crowd despite the bad weather.
The event pulled in people from all over the country.
The new attraction is pulling in more tourists than expected.
Their social media campaign helped pull in younger customers.
What can we do to pull more visitors in?
MEANING 5: To earn money
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To earn |
Separable? | Yes |
Show me the money! This last application of 'pull in' is all about the thing that makes us get up and go to work every day: money.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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We can use the phrasal verb 'pull in' to talk about money when a person or a business earns, obtains or gains a notable or large amount of it. It is usually followed by the specific amount of money e.g. $100,000.
Grammatically, it is technically a separable phrasal verb, however we almost never use it this way. It is similar to the phrasal verb 'bring in' but the with 'pull in' there is more of an emphasis on the large or surprising amount that is earned.
Example sentences....
Carrie pulls in over £80,000 a year.
His business pulls in a lot of money.
The company pulled in record profits last year.
The film pulled in millions at the box office.
James pulls in a decent salary from his teaching work.
The restaurant pulls in thousands of pounds every weekend.
Their online shop pulled in more than $100,000 in sales last year.
The event pulled in nearly £50,000 in ticket sales.
We expect to pull in double that amount next year.
We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'pull in' more confidently and naturally.
Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'pull in' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media.
Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills?Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... |
Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊
THE END
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