pull back

pull back
verb
1. pull back or move away or backward (Freq. 1)
-

The enemy withdrew

-

The limo pulled away from the curb

• Syn:
• Ant: ↑advance (for: ↑recede)
• Derivationally related forms: ↑pullback, ↑receding (for: ↑recede), ↑withdrawal (for: ↑withdraw)
• Hypernyms: ↑travel, ↑go, ↑move, ↑locomote
• Hyponyms: ↑fall back, ↑retrograde, ↑retreat, ↑back up, ↑back off, ↑back down
• Verb Group:
• Verb Frames:
-

Something ——s

-

Somebody ——s

-

Somebody ——s something

-

Somebody ——s PP

2. use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound or an organ)
• Syn: ↑retract, ↑draw back
• Derivationally related forms: ↑retractor (for: ↑retract)
• Hypernyms: ↑pull
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

3. move to a rearward position; pull towards the back
-

Pull back your arms!

• Hypernyms: ↑pull, ↑draw, ↑force
• Verb Group: ↑draw
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

-

Somebody ——s somebody

-

Something ——s somebody

-

Something ——s something

4. stretch back a bowstring (on an archer's bow)
-

The archers were drawing their bows

• Syn: ↑draw
• Hypernyms: ↑stretch
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

5. make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
-

We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him

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He backed out of his earlier promise

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The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns

• Syn:
• Derivationally related forms: ↑withdrawer (for: ↑withdraw), ↑withdrawal (for: ↑withdraw)
• Verb Group:
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • pull back — verb a) To pull in a backwards direction Central African armed forces (FACA) troops were forced to pull back from the town and were planning an operation to retake it, the source said. b) To retreat Her nightgown was thin, and she felt chilly as… …   Wiktionary

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