pull back
pull back
1. phrasal verb
If someone pulls back from an action, they decide not to do it or continue with it, because it could have bad consequences.
They will plead with him to pull back from confrontation. [VERB PARTICLE + from]
The British government threatened to make public its disquiet but then pulled back. [VERB PARTICLE]
2. phrasal verb
pullIf troops pull back or if their leader pulls them back, they go some or all of the way back to their own territory.
They were asked to pull back from their artillery positions around the city. [VERB PARTICLE]
He pulled back forces from Mongolia, and he withdrew from Afghanistan. [VERB PARTICLE noun]
[Also VERB noun PARTICLE]withdraw, pull out, retreat, retire, flee, give way, fall back, back off, draw back, disengage, take flight, turn tail, beat a retreatCOBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
