pull at

phrasal verb

pulled at; pulling at; pulls at

: to hold onto and pull (something) repeatedly

When she gets nervous, she pulls at her ear.

: to breathe in the smoke from (a cigarette, pipe, etc.)

He rocked back and forth, pulling at his pipe.

Examples of pull at in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web If the tiles are vinyl and are attached in a sheet, continue slowly pulling at the tile sheet until it is completely removed. —

Claire Hoppe, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Sep. 2024 That’s not the case in Texas, where Wetzel has already pulled at least three monster catfish out of the water this year. —

Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 17 July 2024 Rather than continue, Carini, pulling at her nose, relinquished the competition completely. —

Li Zhou, Vox, 2 Aug. 2024 Commercials are sometimes meant to be thought-provoking, or even controversial, although generally the brand in question would prefer to pull at heartstrings or inspire. —

Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See all Example Sentences for pull at

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pull at.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.