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Definition of haul


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haul  audio  (hôl) KEY  

VERB:
hauled , haul·ing , hauls
VERB:
tr.
  1. To pull or drag forcibly; tug. See Synonyms at pull.
  2. To transport, as with a truck or cart.
  3. Informal To compel to go, especially for trial: "hauled the huge companies into court" (Peter Matthiessen).
  4. Nautical To change the course of (a ship), especially in order to sail closer into the wind.
VERB:
intr.
  1. To pull; tug.
  2. To provide transportation; cart.
    1. To shift direction: The wind hauled to the east.
    2. To change one's mind.
  3. Nautical To change the course of a ship.
NOUN:
  1. The act of pulling or dragging.
  2. The act of transporting or carting.
  3. A distance, especially the distance over which something is pulled or transported.
  4. Something that is pulled or transported; a load.
  5. Everything collected or acquired by a single effort; the take: a big haul of fish.

PHRASAL VERBS:
haul off Informal
  1. To draw back slightly, as in preparation for initiating an action: "hauled off and smacked the hapless aide across the face" (Bill Barol).
  2. To shift operations to a new place; to move away.
haul up
To come to a halt.

IDIOM:
haul ass Vulgar Slang
To move quickly: We'll be late if you don't haul ass.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English haulen, from Old French haler, of Germanic origin; see kel- 2 in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
hauler (Noun)


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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