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🚆 To arrive 💵 To earn 📥 To collect 🧲 To attract
to pull in

to pull in

19 3.1
To arrive at a station and stop there
  • phrasal verb
  • /pʊl ɪn/
translation icon : llegar (a la estación)
  • An F.B.I. sedan pulls in and parks. F.B.I. Agent Cord gets out. Carla sits in the back seat.
  • a train pulls in
  • a car pulls in
  • a bus pulls in

I can see him, he's just pulling in now.

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Examples

  • You'll be pulling in in a minute.

    Dunkirk (2017)

  • A German staff car pulls in across the factory gate, blocking it.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • - Well, yeah, the bus is pulling in now.

    The Dark Military (2019)

  • The last bus from Bitchville just pulled in.

    Fired Up! (2009)

  • Finn was still sitting in his study when he heard the car pull in.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Look, it's the rush hour, the Bronx Express is just pulling in.

    Sergeant York (1941)

  • I hadn't heard the car pull in, but I could hear it idling now.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Deacon drives the minivan home and pulls in next to the brand new convertible sports car.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The train will pull in at the platform in just a few minutes.

  • The last train from the city pulled in right on time this evening.

Synonyms

to pull up
vsto pull in
163 2.8

To stop or slow down a vehicle at a place

describes arrival at a station with a full stop rather than brief slowing
to get in
vsto pull in
96 1.3

To arrive at a station, like a train or bus

is limited to trains arriving and stopping at a station
to draw up
vsto pull in
5 3.6

To stop a vehicle at a place

refers to arriving at a station and stopping there
to draw in
vsto pull in
4.3

Arrive at a station

is the general expression for train arrival and stopping

Antonyms

to pull out
206 3.4

To stop being involved in an activity or agreement

to depart
176 1.3

To leave a place to start a journey

How Punctual

to pull in
19 3.1
to get in
96 1.3
tardy
25 3.9
to miss
158 1.3

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 comes from trains: the engine would pull the carriages in to the platform, bringing them to a stop. That is why pull in means 'to arrive at a station and stop'.