Pull up: meaning, definitions and examples

This phrase is often used to describe moving something or someone upwards or bringing a vehicle to a stop. Common in informal situations.

• Can you pull up your chair so we can talk?
• The driver pulled up in front of the building.

Often used to describe moving something to a higher position, bringing up children, or increasing amounts, such as money or numbers.

• Raise your hand if you have a question.
• They raise money for charity every year.

Used in more formal contexts to denote lifting something to a higher position or increasing its level, often figuratively.

• We need to elevate the patient's leg to reduce swelling.
• Her speech served to elevate the mood of the entire event.

This word refers specifically to lifting something heavy with the help of equipment like a rope or pulley. It can also be used in nautical settings.

• They hoist the sails early in the morning.
• The workers used a crane to hoist the steel beams.