pull-up

1 of 2

noun

ˈpu̇l-ˌəp 

plural pull-ups

: an exercise in which one hangs by the hands from a support (such as a horizontal bar) and pulls oneself up until the chin is level with the support

specifically : such an exercise done with the palms facing outward compare chin-up

pull up

2 of 2

verb

pulled up; pulling up; pulls up

transitive verb

1

: to bring to a stop : halt

2

: check, rebuke

intransitive verb

1

a

: to check oneself

b

: to come to an often abrupt halt : stop

2

: to draw even with others in a race

Synonyms

Verb

• arrest
• bring up
• catch
• check
• draw up
• fetch up
• halt
• hold up
• stall
• stay
• still
• stop

Examples of pull-up in a Sentence

Verb

the jockey tried to pull up the apparently injured horse

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Done in honor of late U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy, the rigorous workout entails running a mile, then doing 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, before finishing with another one-mile run — all while wearing a weighted vest or body armor. —Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025

Lillard has always been among the league’s top clutch performers but couldn’t knock down this pull-up off the bounce. —Eric Nehm, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025

Verb

Meanwhile, Kenya and Porsha link up for lunch, both pulling up in their Rolls-Royces. —Shelby Stewart, Essence, 19 Mar. 2025

In an all-too-familiar scene for the Twins, Royce Lewis pulled up while trying to beat out a groundball in the second inning of the Twins’ 6-5 loss at Hammond Stadium and had to leave the game early. —Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 16 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1901, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1623, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for pull-up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup