HAUL


Meaning of HAUL in English

I. haul 1 /hɔːl $ hɒːl/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]

[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: French ; Origin: haler 'to pull' ]

1 . to pull something heavy with a continuous steady movement

haul something off/onto/out of etc something

She hauled her backpack onto her back.

the steam locomotive which hauled the train

I hauled the door shut behind me.

2 . haul yourself up/out of etc something

a) to move somewhere with a lot of effort, especially because you are injured or tired:

Patrick hauled himself painfully up the stairs.

b) to succeed in achieving a higher position in society, in a competition etc:

He is confident that the club can haul themselves further up the league.

3 . haul somebody over the coals British English to criticize someone severely because they have done something wrong SYN rake somebody over the coals American English

4 . haul off and hit/punch/kick somebody American English informal to try to hit someone very hard

5 . haul ass American English spoken not polite to hurry

haul somebody off phrasal verb

to force someone to go somewhere that they do not want to go, especially to prison:

Police handcuffed him and hauled him off to jail.

haul somebody up phrasal verb informal

to officially bring someone to a court of law to be judged

haul somebody up before/in front of

Campbell was hauled up in front of the magistrate.

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ pull to make something or someone move in the direction that your hands are moving:

He pulled her towards him and kissed her.

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Sam was pulling on his socks.

▪ tug to pull something suddenly with a short quick movement, often to get someone’s attention:

‘Look,’ he said, tugging at his brother’s sleeve.

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I tugged at the drawer but it wouldn’t open.

▪ drag to pull something along the ground, especially because it is heavy:

If we can’t lift the piano, we’ll have to drag it.

▪ haul to pull something big and heavy using a lot of effort, especially upwards and using a rope:

They hauled their boats further up the beach.

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fishermen hauling in their nets

▪ heave to pull or lift something very heavy, especially with one movement:

He heaved the sack of sand onto his shoulder.

▪ draw formal to pull something or someone gently in a particular direction:

Lisa reached for his hand but he drew it away.

▪ pull to be attached to a vehicle or piece of machinery and make it move behind you in the direction you are going:

Ten dogs were pulling a sledge over the ice.

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a tractor pulling a plough

▪ tow to pull a vehicle behind – used about a vehicle, a boat, or a horse pulling something using a rope or chain:

The car in front of us was towing a caravan.

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Horses were used to tow the boats along the canals.

▪ draw to pull a vehicle such as a carriage – used especially about horses doing this:

a carriage drawn by four horses

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a horse-drawn cart

II. haul 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]

1 . a large amount of illegal or stolen goods:

The gang escaped with a haul worth hundreds of pounds.

haul of

A haul of stolen cars has been seized by police officers.

2 . long/slow haul something that takes a lot of time and effort:

At last we’ve won our freedom but it’s been a long bitter haul.

3 . for the long haul until something that will take a long time is done or achieved:

I’m in this for the long haul (=going to stay involved until the end) .

4 . over the long haul over a long period of time:

Over the long haul, these small increases add up.

5 . the amount of fish caught when fishing with a net

⇨ ↑ long-haul , ↑ short-haul

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.