pull at

phrasal verb

pulled at; pulling at; pulls at

: to hold onto and pull (something) repeatedly

When she gets nervous, she pulls at her ear.

: to breathe in the smoke from (a cigarette, pipe, etc.)

He rocked back and forth, pulling at his pipe.

Examples of pull at in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

This will pull at your heartstrings but never leave you without hope. —

Newsweek Staff, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024 But football pulled at the heartstrings as Macdonald weighed his career path. —

Jeff Howe, The Athletic, 6 Aug. 2024 Permira acquired the luxury sneaker brand in 2020 and tried to make its move last June with an initial public offering that was ultimately pulled at the 11th hour amid turmoil in European stock markets. —

Evan Clark, WWD, 6 Jan. 2025 McDonald’s just got hit with its first lawsuit regarding an E. coli outbreak that resulted in Quarter Pounders being pulled at 20% of all U.S. McDonald’s locations. —

Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pull at