From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpull out phrasal verb1 a) TTCto drive onto a road from another road or from where you have stopped Don’t pull out! There’s something coming. b) TTCto drive over to a different part of the road in order to get past a vehicle in front of you I pulled out to overtake a bus.2 TTTif a train pulls out, it leaves a station OPP pull in3 to stop doing or being involved in something, or to make someone do this McDermott pulled out with an injury at the last minute. of They are trying to pull out of the agreement.pull somebody out of something He threatened to pull his son out of the team.4 to get out of a bad situation or dangerous place, or to make someone or something do this Jim saw that the firm was going to be ruined, so he pulled out.pull somebody/something ↔ out Most of the troops have been pulled out. of when the country was still pulling out of a recession → pull out all the stops at stop2(7) → pull→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
pull out• We got there just as the train was pulling out.• He pulled out a gun and fired three shots.• The man pulled out a gun and fired three shots.• She pulled a notebook out and scribbled a few notes.• I saw her pull a bag out from under the seat.• She pulled a pen out of her bag and began to scribble furiously.• Troops began pulling out of the region as soon as the order was given.pull somebody out of something• And investors are signaling their belief that it will ultimately pull the economy out of a four-year slump.• Smith pulled them all out of his hat.• When Peter pulled an 8-iron out of the bag, I knew he and I were thinking differently.• Gao Ma pulled himself out of the gooey slops.pull of• The 2001 season was canceled when a potential owner of the independent-league baseball team pulled out of a deal.• Coming at the end of that big brass lineage, H-4 is as surprising as a rabbit pulled out of a hat.• But it eventually pulled out of Emerge, which is now owned by Black Entertainment Television.• I pulled out of his grip and put some distance between us.• More than 10,000 acres of agave were pulled out of production between 1996 and 1999, as demand was skyrocketing.• Janir, as we pulled out of the drive, was reading.• He watched me until I pulled out of the parking lot, turning left.• Baj was in a similar position and decided to pull out of the trip altogether.pull-outˈpull-out, pullout /ˈpʊlaʊt/ noun [countable] 1 LEAVE A PLACEthe act of an army, business etc leaving a particular place The pull-out of troops will begin soon.2 TCNpart of a book or magazine that is designed to be removed and read separately a pull-out on home PCsExamples from the Corpus
pull-out• The Euro pull-out completed the most dramatic day in politics since Mrs Thatcher was toppled.• In 1990, for example, pull-out of a bilateral donor caused a funding shortfall of an important multilateral programme.• There are no separate, pull-out special education classes here.• Those days we bought gallon jugs of Gallo with pull-out corks or screwed-on lids.From Longman Business Dictionarypull out phrasal verb [intransitive] to get out of an agreement, deal, or difficult situation so that you are no longer taking part in itIf the project costs continue to rise, we may be forced to pull out. ofCatalogue shopping group Argos is pulling out of its furniture store venture because it sees no prospect of improved trading conditions. → pull→ See Verb table 