What does "haul" mean?
An act of hauling or pulling, particularly with force; a (violent) pull or tug.
Haul
/hɔːl/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of hauling or pulling, particularly with force; a (violent) pull or tug.
- Grammar: haul is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: apply a pull, attraction, bag, barge.
- Useful contrasts: cower, deficit, local trip.
- Usage evidence: Dead-end jobs are not only unlikely to be lucrative over the long haul, they're unlikely to provide much scope for talent.
How to use "haul"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "haul" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "haul" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "haul" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "haul" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "haul" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "apply a pull" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "haul", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of hauling or pulling, particularly with force; a (violent) pull or tug.
"So I rigged my big salmon rod, and when I heard him splashing in the shallows across the pool, I put a few Alka Seltzer tablets onto the hook and cast into the darkness. There was a splash and a haul on my line, and this time I struck with both hands and then began pulling and horsing as hard as I could to bring this big fish over to my side."
- 2 the act of drawing or hauling something wordnet
- 3 The distance over which something is hauled or transported, especially if long.
"Getting to his place was a real haul."
- 4 the quantity that was caught wordnet
- 5 An amount of something that has been taken, especially of fish, illegal loot, or items purchased on a shopping trip.
"The robber’s haul was over thirty items."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Ellipsis of haul video (“video posted on the Internet consisting of someone showing and talking about recently purchased items”). Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"Then there are the YouTube hauls, the oddly viral videos of influencers showing off what they got for Christmas. In her 2017 haul that's been watched 1.7 million times, Olivia Jade – a 19-year-old beauty and fashion tipster and the daughter of actress Lori Loughlin – sat on a plush white bed in polar bear pyjamas and a Santa hat. One by one, she showed off a bottle of Valentino perfume ("sweet mixed with floral"), a cropped, purple fuzzy sweater from Urban Outfitters, bikinis, sneakers, jeans, underwear, high heels, dresses, tops and more."
- 7 A bundle of many threads to be tarred.
"When the collected yarns number about 400, they are coiled up in a haul, and are ready either for tarring, or laying into white ropes. Previous to the haul being taken up for tarring, there is a slight turn put into it to keep it from getting entangled in the tar-kettle. […] 400 of such threads constituted a haul, and weighed 12 cwt. 2 qrs, and when tarred 15 cwt."
- 8 Four goals scored by one player in a game. British
"Four goals scored by a single player in a match can be described as a 'haul', while five goals is unofficially a 'glut'."
Verb
- 1 To transport by drawing or pulling, as with horses or oxen, or a motor vehicle. transitive
"to haul logs to a sawmill"
- 2 transport in a vehicle wordnet
- 3 To draw or pull something heavy. transitive
"Thither they bent, and haul'd their ſhip to land, / (The crooked keel divides the yellow ſand) / Ulyſſes ſleeping on his couch they bore, / And gently plac'd him on the rocky ſhore."
- 4 draw slowly or heavily wordnet
- 5 To carry or transport something, with a connotation that the item is heavy or otherwise difficult to move. transitive
"The California fruit trade is all handled by the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe railroads. The last named road operates its own refrigerator cars and fixes its own rates. It hauls fully half of the traffic and it is therefore evident that the "Beef Trust" has no voice or power in the matter. […] The same condition exists with the melon grower of Colorado, except that in this case the Santa Fe road hauls nearly all of the product."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 To drag, to pull, to tug. figuratively, transitive
"The 26-year-old [Papiss Cissé] has proved a revelation since his £10m move from Freiburg, with his 11 goals in 10 matches hauling Newcastle above Spurs, who went down to Adel Taarabt's goal in Saturday's late kick-off at Loftus Road."
- 7 Followed by up: to summon to be disciplined or held answerable for something. figuratively, transitive
"Well, it is impossible to carry stock by train or steamer without causing some pain or suffering, and to be hauled up before a Justice of the Peace […] without a warrant because somebody thinks you have caused unnecessary pain seems to me to be an outrageous proceeding. […] [T]o enact a Draconian law that if anybody who does not know anything about the subject thinks when you are trying to get a bullock into a truck when he will not go you are acting cruelly he can inform the police, and you can be arrested there and then and hauled up before a Justice of the Peace."
- 8 To pull apart, as oxen sometimes do when yoked. intransitive
- 9 To steer (a vessel) closer to the wind. ambitransitive
"When the Admiral hauls out of the Line, and remains ſo for ſome Accident, although the Signal for the Line is flying, and the Signal for Battle then out, ought not the other Ships to continue in the Line, doing their Duty, engaging the Enemy?"
- 10 Of the wind: to shift fore (more towards the bow). intransitive
"The wind, serving us to a desire, now hauled into the west."
- 11 To haul ass (“go fast”). US, colloquial, intransitive
"“How fast was he goin’?” / “I don’t know exactly, but he must’ve been haulin’, given where he landed.”"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Dead-end jobs are not only unlikely to be lucrative over the long haul, they're unlikely to provide much scope for talent."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "haul"?
Common synonyms include: apply a pull, attraction, bag, barge, barnful, barrows.
How do you use "haul" in a sentence?
Dead-end jobs are not only unlikely to be lucrative over the long haul, they're unlikely to provide much scope for talent.
How do you pronounce "haul"?
Pronounced /hɔːl/.
Etymology
From Middle English hālen, hailen, haulen, halien (“to drag, pull; to draw up”), from Old French haler (“to haul, pull”), from Frankish *halōn (“to drag, fetch, haul”) or Middle Dutch halen (“to drag, fetch, haul”), possibly merging with Old English *halian (“to haul, drag”); all from Proto-Germanic *halōną, *halēną, *hulōną (“to call, fetch, summon”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, cry, summon”). The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates The word is cognate with Danish hale (“to haul”), Middle Dutch halen (“to draw, fetch, haul”), Dutch halen (“to fetch, bring, haul”), Old Frisian halia, Saterland Frisian halen (“to draw, haul, pull”), Low German halen (“to draw, pull”), Old High German halôn, holôn, German holen (“to fetch, get”), Norwegian hale (“to haul”), Old Saxon halôn (“to fetch, get”), Swedish hala (“to hale, haul, pull, tug”), and related to Old English ġeholian (“to get, obtain”).