pʊl θruː
neutral
intermediate
- Base verb:
- pull
- Particle:
- through
- Separable:
- Yes
What does "pull through" mean?
- To survive a serious illness or difficult situation
- To help someone survive
Examples
- The doctors think she'll pull through.
- He pulled through after the heart surgery.
- The company pulled through the recession.
- Her support helped him pull through.
- It was touch and go, but he pulled through.
How to use it
Often used in medical contexts for recovering from illness. Can also apply to difficult business or personal situations.
Word order
Usually intransitive. Can be transitive: 'She pulled him through'.
Similar expressions
survive
recover
make it
overcome
Opposites
succumb
fail
die
Related phrasal verbs
- pull off
To succeed in doing something difficult
- pull out
To remove something from inside
- pull up
To stop a vehicle
- pull over
To drive a vehicle to the side of the road and stop
- pull together
To work as a team; to cooperate
- pull apart
To separate something into pieces
Use it in a practice answer
Try "pull through" in a CELPIP-style Speaking or Writing task. The AI feedback tells you whether your word choice worked.