haul | meaning of haul in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2024)

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhaulhaul1 /hɔːl $ hɒːl/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 1 PULLto pull something heavy with a continuous steady movementhaul something off/onto/out of etc something She hauled her backpack onto her back. the steam locomotive which hauled the train I hauled the door shut behind me.► see thesaurus at pull2 → haul yourself up/out of etc something3 → haul somebody over the coals4 → haul off and hit/punch/kick somebody 5 → haul ass → haul somebody off → haul somebody up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpushaul• The ship was hauling a load of iron ore.• For baths, laundry, and dishwashing, they hauled buckets of water from a spring at the foot of a hill.• These men and women work through the night, hauling in the fish, then setting out their nets again.• At about five o'clock the beach was full of activity, with the fishermen hauling in their nets.• Then the nets would be hauled in.• For instance, he interfered with the hauling of sludge, causing sludge to back up at the plant, they said.• Mama didn't bother to invite him when she hauled over Lord George Sanger's circus two weeks ago.• In Fujian, workers are carving roads into red clay hills, scaling bamboo scaffolding, hauling piles of stone.• They hauled seine into nightfall and passed midnight.• Somehow we managed to haul the boat out of the water and onto the bank. haul something off/onto/out of etc something• Annie hauls herself out of her chair, nets a shiner from the tank, and throws it out the screen door.• D., and every week he came to town with Roman and hauled a bagful out of the library.• Next day I hauled myself out of bed, took breakfast and got into the truck about a quarter to six.• The demented crocuses were hauling themselves up out of the earth.• There was a small knot of policemen hauling something out of the water.• This was the pier where fourteen years before he had hauled paving blocks out of the holds of immigration ships.haulhaul2 noun [countable] 1 TAKE something FROM SOMEWHEREa large amount of illegal or stolen goods The gang escaped with a haul worth hundreds of pounds.haul of A haul of stolen cars has been seized by police officers. 2 → long/slow haul3 → for the long haul4 → over the long haul5 TAthe amount of fish caught when fishing with a net → long-haul, short-haulExamples from the Corpushaul• The All-Star goalie collects hockey cards, and boasts a haul of nearly 100,000.• a drugs haul• This may seem like a large haul, but trading standards officers insist it's just the tip of the iceberg.• Miles per gallon Then, on a long haul, it wouldn't go up hill or overtake on the flat.• Far from trying to develop their targets for the long haul, the Milken minions broke them up for quick gain.• Given a perfectly uniform diet, this could have an effect since even a small increase adds up over the long haul.• Trevino hid the haul in his mother's closet for over a year.• The police caught three men examining their haul in a house in north London.• But the weighty haul may have proved too much for the raiders. From Longman Business Dictionaryhaulhaul1 /hɔːlhɒːl/ verb [transitive]1TRANSPORTif a train or TRUCK hauls goods, it takes them from one place to anotherThe freight train hauled the load of 240 tons with ease.Union Pacific hauls garbage from Seattle to a landfill in eastern Oregon.2 (also haul up) to officially make someone go to a senior manager, committee, or court to be judged on something they have done, especially something badhaul somebody before/in front of somebody/somethingOfficials can be hauled before Congressional committees and asked to justify their policies.Bar staff who serve drunk drivers may get hauled up in front of the local judge if those people are later involved in accidents.3haul somebody over the coals to speak to someone angrily and severely because they have done something wrongHe might be hauled over the coals and forced to resign if his manager did not agree with his actions. → See Verb tablehaulhaul2 noun [countable]1the amount of fish caught in one net or in one period of timeDemand for fishing boats depends on estimated sizes of fish hauls.2a large amount of stolen or illegal goods that has been found by the police or CUSTOMShaul ofA haul of stolen cars has been seized by police.a £1 million drugs haul3TRAVEL long/short haul connected with long or short journeys by planeKLM earns most of its revenue on long-haul flights.a popular short-haul destinationOrigin haul1 (1200-1300) French haler “to pull”