Meaning & use
pulls away
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Meanings
verbintransitive
(of a vehicle or its driver) starts to move forward and leaves a place.
Grammar: No object; the vehicle or driver is the subject, and 'from' can introduce the place left behind.
Patterns
- pull away from something
- pull away slowly
The bus pulled away just as I reached the stop.
She started the engine and pulled away from the curb without looking back.
The taxi pulled away and disappeared around the corner.
verbintransitive
moves backward or to the side so as to be farther from someone or something.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'from' to name the person or thing you move away from.
Patterns
- pull away from someone
- pull away from something
He tried to kiss her, but she pulled away.
The child pulled away from his mother's hand and ran toward the swings.
I felt him pull away when I mentioned the money.
verbintransitivesport
gradually increases a lead over a rival in a race or competition.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by 'from' plus the rival or the chasing group.
Patterns
- pull away from someone
- pull away at the front
Two runners pulled away from the pack in the final lap.
The home team pulled away in the last ten minutes and won easily.
verbintransitive
becomes emotionally distant from someone over time.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'from' to name the person who is being left behind emotionally.
Patterns
- pull away from someone
After the argument, he began to pull away from his old friends.
She worried that her daughter was pulling away from the family.
Word forms
| base form | pull away |
|---|---|
| past tense | pulled away |
| past participle | pulled away |
| -ing form | pulling away |
Common combinations
- pull away from the curb
- The car pulled away from the curb and joined the traffic.
- pull away slowly
- The train pulled away slowly, then gathered speed.
- pull away from the pack
- The champion pulled away from the pack on the final hill.
- pull away in the final minutes
- United pulled away in the final minutes and won 3–0.
- begin to pull away
- He began to pull away from his teammates after the injury.
Synonyms and how they differ
- drive off
- Focuses on a car or its driver leaving; 'pull away' also works for buses, trains and people moving back.
- move off
- A more neutral British-sounding way of saying a vehicle starts to leave; it does not cover the emotional sense of 'pull away'.
- draw ahead
- Used mainly in races for getting in front; it does not suggest the physical backward movement that 'pull away' can mean.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: pulls away or pull out? pulls away or pull off?
pulls away vs pull out
'Pull out' means a vehicle moves out into the road or someone leaves an activity; 'pull away' simply means it starts moving from where it was stopped.
pulls away vs pull off
'Pull off' usually means to succeed at something difficult or to leave the road; it is not the same as a vehicle starting to move.
Practice
The lights turned green, and the taxi ___ from the curb.
Choose one answer.
'Pulled away' is the natural choice for a vehicle starting to move from a stopped position. 'Pulled over' means it stopped at the side of the road, and 'pulled off' would need a different pattern such as 'pulled off the road'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pulls away”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.