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Glite Dictionary
to pull for

to pull for

23 4.2
Support someone in a competition or hard situation
  • phrasal verb
  • /pʊl fɔr/
  • Informal
translation icon : animar a
  • Everyone is pulling for the underdog team to win the championship.
  • pull for the underdog
  • crowd is pulling for
  • pulling for the team

Examples

Synonyms

to root
vsto pull for
  • US
113 2.9

To cheer for someone or a team because you want them to win

is similar but used more generally beyond competitive events
to root for
vsto pull for
  • Informal
110 3.0

To cheer for a person or team so they do well

includes backing both in competitions and during difficult personal situations
to throw one's weight behind
vsto pull for
3 6.6

To support a person or idea by using your influence

means support by active influence rather than only cheering
in someone's corner
vsto pull for
  • Informal
1 4.6

Support someone during difficult times

includes cheering in competitions as well as backing in hard times
to root on
vsto pull for
  • UK
6.5

To cheer for someone loudly to show support

covers general backing but not always noisy encouragement

Antonyms

to oppose
∞ 2.9

To be against something and try to stop it

How Supportive

to champion
64 4.2
support
∞ 1.0
to pull for
  • Informal
23 4.2
to cheer
356 1.0
to wish well
54 2.7

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

pull + for

The preposition 'for' already encodes support/approval, so a learner who knows 'for' may guess the expression involves favoring someone; however, 'pull' does not literally mean 'support' in its basic senses, so the combined meaning ‘to root for’ relies on a metaphorical or idiomatic extension rather than straightforward composition. Because part of the meaning is recoverable from the constituents but the verb’s contribution is not fully predictable, this is best classed as semi-transparent.

Etymology

Pull for comes from the image of people pulling together on a rope to help someone win a game or move a heavy load. When people do this they give help from behind, so today pull for means 'to support or root for' someone.