to pull through
66
3.9
- phrasal verb
- /pʊl θru/
- Despite the financial challenges, the community worked together to pull through and support each other.
- helped her pull through
- going to pull through
- hope he pulls through
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Watch on YouTubeAnd you know, he pulls through and that's our first year as parents.
- And you know, he pulls through and that's our first year as parents.
- But I've been battling with this one for a while and pulled through.
- Like I, I still don't really understand how on earth I was able to pull through that.
- I could pull through this if I just knew that that narcissist was going to get theirs.
- Hopefully next is better, but you'll pull through it.
- And I think fortunately, being able to pull through that and the right people that did come through.
Examples
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Despite the blood loss, the doctors were confident that Bethany would pull through.
Academic text (2011) -
How did you pull through?
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We're all just so excited that Mike pulled through.
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I think your son is going to pull through just fine.
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I had cancer at the time and thought I was not going to pull through.
Blog text (28) -
So there is hope that they could pull through this, reports US Weekly.
Blog text (16) -
I'm so glad that your family pulled through this relatively okay!
Blog text (11) -
He's gonna pull through.
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Mum's pulled through.
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After battling the severe infection for weeks, the doctors were relieved to see that he managed to pull through.
Synonyms
∞
2.7
Continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult event
∞
3.4
To survive after danger or a serious problem
659
2.8
To reach a place or goal after overcoming problems
296
3.4
To get through a hard time and be okay
To survive a difficult time or problem
Antonyms
How Recovered
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'pull' (to exert force/move) plus 'through' (to move to the other side/complete something) create a compositional idea of getting past or moving through difficulty, so the general sense of overcoming is somewhat inferable. However, the specific sense 'to recover or survive a serious illness' is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is only partly transparent.
Etymology
The phrasal verb pull through may come from a simple image of people pulling someone through a dangerous place, like rescuers dragging a person out of a wreck. That's why it now means 'to survive' or 'to recover' after a serious illness or danger.