pull over meaning and examples thumbnail

pull over meaning and examples

2025-09-27

Meaning

Pull over is a phrasal verb that means to move a vehicle to the side of the road and stop. It can also be used figuratively to mean stopping what one is doing.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of speech: Phrasal verb

  • Form: intransitive (it does not take a direct object)

  • Structure:

    • pull over (to the side)
    • Often used with vehicles or drivers.
  • Sometimes used in commands by police: “Please pull over.”

Common Phrases

  • Pull over to the side of the road
  • Police pulled him over
  • Pull over for a rest

Collocations

  • verb + pull over: had to pull over, decided to pull over
  • noun + pull over: police pull-over, emergency pull-over
  • adverb + pull over: immediately pull over, safely pull over

Examples

  1. The police officer told the driver to pull over.
  2. I had to pull over because my car engine was making strange noises.
  3. We pulled over at a rest stop to get some coffee.
  4. The driver quickly pulled over to let the ambulance pass.
  5. It was raining so hard that I decided to pull over until it stopped.
  6. The taxi pulled over to pick up the passenger.
  7. She pulled over to answer an urgent phone call.
  • stop
  • park
  • pull to the side
  • halt

Antonym

  • drive on
  • keep going
  • continue driving

Image

Visual idea: A simple drawing of a car moving from the road to the roadside and stopping, with a road and a sign, to represent pulling over.