push
pushing | the act of applying force in order to move something away, he gave the door a hard push, the pushing is good exercise |
pull
pulling | the act of pulling, applying force to move something toward or with you, the pull up the hill had him breathing harder, his strenuous pulling strained his back |
| push | an effort to advance, the army made a push toward the sea |
leg-pull
leg-pulling | as a joke: trying to make somebody believe something that is not true |
| pull | a sustained effort, it was a long pull but we made it |
pull-up
chin-up | an arm exercise performed by pulling yourself up on a horizontal bar until your chin is level with the bar |
puff
drag pull | a slow inhalation (as of tobacco smoke), he took a puff on his pipe, he took a drag on his cigarette and expelled the smoke slowly |
rollback
push back | the act of forcing the enemy to withdraw |
| bell push | a button that is pushed to ring a bell |
| pull | a device used for pulling something, he grabbed the pull and opened the drawer |
| pull chain | a chain (usually with a handle at the end) that is pulled in order to operate some mechanism (e.g. to flush a toilet) |
pull-in
pull-up | a roadside cafe especially for lorry drivers |
pull-off
rest area
rest stop
layby
lay-by | designated paved area beside a main road where cars can stop temporarily |
| pull-through | cleaning implement consisting of an oily rag attached by a cord to a weight, is pulled through the barrel of a rifle or handgun to clean it |
| push-bike | a bicycle that must be pedaled |
| push broom | a wide broom that is pushed ahead of the sweeper |
push button
push
button | an electrical switch operated by pressing, the elevator was operated by push buttons, the push beside the bed operated a buzzer at the desk |
| push-button radio | a radio receiver that can be tuned by pressing buttons |
push-down storage
push-down store
stack | a storage device that handles data so that the next item to be retrieved is the item most recently stored (LIFO) |
energy push
get-up-and-go | enterprising or ambitious drive, Europeans often laugh at American energy |
pull
clout | special advantage or influence, the chairman's nephew has a lot of pull |
push-down list
push-down stack
stack | a list in which the next item to be removed is the item most recently stored (LIFO) |
| push-down queue | a queue in which the last item to go in is the first item to come out (LIFO) |
| pull | the force used in pulling, the pull of the moon, the pull of the current |
push
thrust | the force used in pushing, the push of the water on the walls of the tank, the thrust of the jet engines |
| cost-pull inflation | inflation caused by an increase in the costs of production |
| demand-pull inflation | inflation caused by an increase in demand or in the supply of money |
wrench
twist
pull | a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments, the wrench to his knee occurred as he fell, he was sidelined with a hamstring pull |
grimace
make a face
pull a face | contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state, He grimaced when he saw the amount of homework he had to do |
pull
overstretch | strain abnormally, I pulled a muscle in my leg when I jumped up, The athlete pulled a tendon in the competition |
| erupt come out break through push through | break out, The tooth erupted and had to be extracted |
| pull b | take away, pull the old soup cans from the supermarket shelf |
| push bear on | press, drive, or impel (someone) to action or completion of an action, He pushed her to finish her doctorate |
retreat
pull back back out
back away
crawfish
crawfish out
pull in one's horns
withdraw | make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity, We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him, He backed out of his earlier promise, The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns |
dismiss
disregard
brush aside
brush off discount
push aside
ignore | bar from attention or consideration, She dismissed his advances |
bamboozle
snow
hoodwink
pull the wool over someone's eyes
lead by the nose
play false | conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end, He bamboozled his professors into thinking that he knew the subject well |
pull the leg of
kid | tell false information to for fun, Are you pulling my leg? |
advertise
advertize
promote
push | make publicity for, try to sell (a product), The salesman is aggressively pushing the new computer model, The company is heavily advertizing their new laptops |
gain
advance
win pull ahead
make headway
get ahead
gain ground | obtain advantages, such as points, etc., The home team was gaining ground, After defeating the Knicks, the Blazers pulled ahead of the Lakers in the battle for the number-one playoff berth in the Western Conference |
| pull d root for | take sides with, align oneself with, show strong sympathy for, We all rooted for the home team, I'm pulling for the underdog, Are you siding with the defender of the title? |
| pull out all the stops | use all resources available, The organizers pulled out all the stops for the centennial meeting |
down
knock down cut down
push down
pull down | cause to come or go down, The policeman downed the heavily armed suspect, The mugger knocked down the old lady after she refused to hand over her wallet |
| pull back draw | stretch back a bowstring (on an archer's bow), The archers were drawing their bows |
extract pull out
pull a pull up
take out draw out | remove, usually with some force or effort, also used in an abstract sense, pull weeds, extract a bad tooth, take out a splinter, extract information from the telegram |
gather
garner
collect
pull together | assemble or get together, gather some stones, pull your thoughts together |
pluck pull tear deplume
deplumate
displume | strip of feathers, pull a chicken, pluck the capon |
| collect pull in | get or bring together, accumulate evidence |
| pull | hit in the direction that the player is facing when carrying through the swing, pull the ball |
| press push | make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby, `Now push hard,' said the doctor to the woman |
pull
draw force | cause to move by pulling, draw a wagon, pull a sled |