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to pull in

to pull in

14 4.1
To earn money from work or business
  • phrasal verb
  • /pʊl ɪn/
translation icon : ganar
  • Last year, the business pulled in over a million dollars in profit.
  • pull in money
  • pull in a salary
  • pull in six figures

Examples

  • These guys are part of a crew that's pulling in millions of dollars a year.

  • Obama's campaign said Monday it pulled in $114 million last month, slightly more than Romney's $111.6 million.

    Blog text (30)
  • You know how much money we pull in on Saturday alone?

  • How much you think these places pull in a night?

  • What does your sister pull in?

  • I too see the salaries I could pull in and imagine what I could do with the extra money.

    Blog text (26)
  • We estimate that the company will pull in around $65 million in revenue this year, with positive cash flow.

    Blog text (6)
  • What to make of those households pulling in over $1,000,000 a year?

    Blog text (17)
  • Each shift of 12 hours would pull in $100,000 to $150,000.

    Academic text (2007)
  • You'll probably pull in somewhere between 200 and 300K.

Synonyms

to make
vsto pull in
1.3

To earn money from work or business

is used for getting a particular amount of money
to gain
vsto pull in
1.4

To get something useful, often by effort, like money or skills

specifies money received rather than general advantages or gains
to pay
vsto pull in
  • Specialized
5.2

To give money as interest or profit

means receiving money rather than an investment producing a return
to earn
vsto pull in
780 1.0

To get money for work you do or from a business

focuses on receiving a specific amount as income or profit
to clear
vsto pull in
  • Specialized
154 6.0

To earn a net profit after expenses

focuses on gross receipt rather than settling obligations or netting profit
to bring in
vsto pull in
123 2.8

Earn money from a thing or activity

refers to receiving a particular sum rather than general income
to realize
vsto pull in
  • Specialized
46 6.7

To turn things you own into money

covers earning income rather than converting existing assets into cash
to rake in
vsto pull in
  • Informal
29 4.6

To earn a large amount of money with little effort

is neutral about amount and effort when receiving income
to take in
vsto pull in
  • Informal
25 4.9

Earn money from work or sales

is the more neutral way to state received income
to cash in
vsto pull in
21 3.7

Make money from something, often by using a good opportunity

describes regular earning rather than selling or converting assets
to rake in a fortune
vsto pull in
  • Informal
1 4.3

To earn a lot of money quickly with little work

focuses on ordinary income amounts not necessarily huge gains

How Much

to rake in
  • Informal
29 4.6
to bring in
123 2.8
to pull in
14 4.1
to earn
780 1.0

Surface Forms

pull in infinitive
pulled in past
pulled in past participle
pulling in present participle
pulls in third person singular

Morphology

pull + in

The meaning 'to attract or draw' is transparently derived from combining 'pull' (to draw/tow) with the directional particle 'in' (toward), yielding an inward-drawing sense that maps directly onto 'attract'. This compositional motion→metaphor pattern is common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will typically infer the MWE meaning (though note the phrasal verb also has other senses like 'arrive/stop').

Etymology

Pull in may come from the idea of drawing money toward you, like using pull to drag a bag of coins in to your pocket or till. So pull in came to mean 'to earn' or receive money.