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Glite Dictionary
to pull up short

to pull up short

1 5.8
To stop suddenly before you expect it
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : detenerse en seco
  • The dog ran ahead but had to pull up short when its leash tightened unexpectedly.

Examples

  • Staffa pulled up short, his cloak twisting around him.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Jack pulls up short and exits.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • We pulled up short behind a truck.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • When Bessie pulled up short, she was out of breath.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Stan pulled up short.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The other man pulled up short, his face blanching in the pallid half-light of the "night" rotation.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Clenching his jaw beneath the grinning mask, Casimir planted his feet on the stair and pulled up short.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Green peels off as Duncan, never breaking stride after his handoff, pulls up short, planting Dwight Howard in place at the edge of the lane.

    Blog text (15)

  • As the car sped toward the stop sign, the driver had to pull up short to avoid an accident.

  • She was walking too fast and had to pull up short when she spotted a squirrel crossing the path.

Synonyms

to pull up
vsto pull up short
163 2.8

To stop or slow down a vehicle at a place

stops very suddenly rather than gradually slowing or easing
to break off
vsto pull up short
50 3.2

To stop something suddenly before it is finished, for example a talk or relationship

stops abruptly but applies across actions talks and relationships
to bring up
vsto pull up short
22 3.0

Cause someone or something to stop suddenly

stops abruptly without needing an external causing action
to bring up short
vsto pull up short
1 7.4

Stop someone suddenly, often during speech or action

stops quickly in many situations including movement
to break short
vsto pull up short
5.4

To stop something before it finishes

stops suddenly in many contexts not only ending events
to hit the buffers
vsto pull up short
  • Literature
8.4

Suddenly stop or fail because of a big problem

stops abruptly without implying failure or an obstacle cause

Antonyms

to continue
∞ 1.0

To keep doing something without stopping

to proceed
763 3.0

Begin or continue an action after a pause, often as planned

How Abrupt

to stop dead
  • Informal
12 3.9
to pull up short
1 5.8
stop
310 1.0
to hesitate
318 2.5
to slow down
687 1.4

Surface Forms

pull up short infinitive
pulled up short past
pulled up short past participle
pulling up short present participle
pulls up short third person singular

Morphology

pull + up + short

The meaning 'to stop suddenly' is directly derivable from the parts: 'pull up' (to halt or stop, especially a vehicle) combined with 'short' (indicating abruptness or incompletion). This composition follows a common verb + particle + modifier pattern that is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The verb pull up short may come from horse riding: a rider would give a quick, sharp pull on the reins to pull up, a short tug that made the horse stop suddenly. So, the phrase came to mean 'to stop suddenly'.