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1. A device (as a decorative loop of cord or fabric) for holding or drawing something back
   "the draperies were drawn to the sides by pullbacks";
   - tieback
    
2. (military) the act of pulling back (especially an orderly withdrawal of troops)
   "the pullback is expected to be over 25,000 troops"
    
3. A reduction in the price of a financial instrument

1. Move away or backward
   "The enemy pulled back";
   - withdraw, retreat, pull away, draw back, recede, retire, move back
    
2. Move to a rearward position; pull towards the back
   "Pull back your arms!"
    
3. Stretch back a bowstring (on an archer's bow)
   "The archers were pulling back their bows";
   - draw
    
4. Make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
   - retreat, back out, back away, crawfish [N. Amer, informal], crawfish out [N. Amer, informal], pull in one's horns [informal], withdraw
    
5. Use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound or an organ)
   - retract, draw back

Derived forms: pullbacks, pulled back, pulling back, pulls back

See also: draw

Type of: draw, go, holding device, locomote, move, pull, stretch, travel, withdrawal

Encyclopedia: Pullback