To succeed in doing something difficult or unexpected, or to remove something by pulling.
To manage to do something hard, or to take something off by pulling it.
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To succeed in doing something difficult, surprising, or impressive.
"Nobody thought they could pull off the merger in just three months, but they did."
How did you pull that off?
— Ocean's Eleven (film, 2001)
To remove something by pulling, especially clothing or an attached object.
"He pulled off his gloves and tossed them on the bench."
Of a vehicle or driver: to move to the side of or away from a road.
"The driver pulled off the motorway to check the map."
To pull something away from a surface — idiomatically extended to pulling a difficult outcome off against the odds.
To manage to do something hard, or to take something off by pulling it.
The figurative sense (achieve something difficult) is very common in informal speech and journalism. The literal sense (remove by pulling) is straightforward. A vehicle 'pulling off' a road is a third, neutral use.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "pull off" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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