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Glite Dictionary
to pull at

to pull at

12 3.9
To tug gently with your fingers again and again, often when nervous
  • phrasal verb
  • /pʊl æt/
translation icon : tirar de
  • So first step is gently pull at the edges, right?
  • pulling at my clothes
  • pulled at her sleeve
  • pull at her hair

So first step is gently pull at the edges, right?

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Examples

  • Pitt shifted uncomfortably, instinctively pulling at his collar to ease it from choking him.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Then you can pull out the cable that's in there, but don't pull at the wire.

  • I, I tried to pull at the door, but, uh...

    The Contender (2000)

  • Will you stop pulling at the skin on your toe?

    Chéri (2009)

  • "Are you all right?" Brianna, obviously upset, pulled at her mother's arm.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • That's because you've been pulling at it for two hours.

    Running with Scissors (2006)

  • My two younger brothers grow restive and pull at me to climb up on a ladder-back chair.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Stronger and stronger, it pulled at him, peeling his bleeding fingers from the wall to which he clung.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The mare wasn't anxious to approach the church, nodding her head nervously and pulling at the reins.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "What are you doing?" she asked, noticing him pull at the loose string on his sweater.

Synonyms

to pluck
vsto pull at
77 3.5

To pull something out quickly with the fingers

involves repeated light finger actions and nervous distraction rather than quick removal
to tug
vsto pull at
56 1.0

To pull something hard, often in a quick way

is lighter, repeated finger action rather than strong sudden force
to fiddle with
vsto pull at
32 3.9

To touch or move something nervously without thinking

is more about light repeated finger movements with anxious distraction
to pick at
vsto pull at
5 3.8

Pull at something with your fingers again and again, often nervously

is lighter and more distracted rather than general nervous touching
to pluck at
vsto pull at
3 6.1

To pull lightly and repeatedly at something with your fingers

is more tied to nervous or distracted action than simple light movement

Antonyms

to let go of
356 1.9

To stop holding something so it is not in your hand

How Hard

to yank
196 4.1
to tug
56 1.0
to pluck
77 3.5
to pull at
12 3.9

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

pull + at

The basic idea—using 'pull' (to exert force) plus 'at' (marking the target of the action)—makes the notion of tugging at something fairly predictable for a learner who knows both words. However, the specific sense of light, repeated tugs as a nervous or habitual action (pluck/repeatedly tug) is a pragmatic/behavioral extension not fully deducible from the parts, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Pull at comes from the simple picture of someone using their fingers to pull at a sleeve, loose thread, or a bit of hair again and again. That small, repeated tugging became a sign of being 'nervous' or 'distracted', so pull at now means 'to tug or pluck lightly and repeatedly', often because of nerves.