1 A2 neutral
Of a vehicle or driver: to stop.
"The black car pulled up outside the hotel and the driver got out."
inseparable
pull up
B1 neutral separable transitive/intransitive
To stop a vehicle, to raise or move something upward, to reprimand someone, or to look up information.
In plain English
To stop your car, lift something up, or tell someone they did something wrong.
What does "pull up" mean?
4 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 neutral
To access or retrieve information on a screen or computer.
"Can you pull up the spreadsheet from last month so we can compare the figures?"
separable
3 B2 idiomatic neutral
To criticise or reprimand someone for a mistake or bad behaviour.
"The manager pulled her up for arriving late three days in a row."
separable
4 A2 informal
To pull a chair close and sit down, or to move something upward physically.
"Pull up a chair — we were just about to start."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
Transparent in physical senses — to pull something upward or to stop (as in halting one's movement).
Actually means
To stop your car, lift something up, or tell someone they did something wrong.
Usage tip
Has several distinct meanings. The vehicle sense is very common. The reprimand sense ('pull someone up on something') is common in British English. 'Pull up a chair' is a fixed phrase meaning to sit down nearby.
Words that pair with "pull up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
chair car record file weeds data socks
How to conjugate "pull up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
pull up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
pulls up
he/she/it
Past simple
pulled up
yesterday
Past participle
pulled up
have + pp
-ing form
pulling up
continuous
Hear "pull up" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "pull up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.