haul

Universal Words verb, noun verb 1 [VN] to pull sth/sb with a lot of effort: The wagons were hauled by horses. * He reached down and hauled Liz up onto the wall. * The car was hauled out of the river. * fishermen hauling in their nets 2 [VN+adv./prep.] ~ yourself up / out of etc. to move yourself somewhere slowly and with a lot of effort: She hauled herself out of bed. * He hauled himself up. 3 [VN+adv./prep.] to force sb to go somewhere they do not want to go: A number of suspects have been hauled in for questioning. * He was hauled off to jail. 4 [VN] [usuallypassive] ~ sb (up) before sb/sth to make sb appear in a court of law in order to be judged: He was hauled up before the local magistrates for dangerous driving. IDIOMS haul sb over the coals (BrE) (AmE rake sb over the coals) to criticize sb severely because they have done sth wrong: I was hauled over the coals by my boss for being late. noun 1 a large amount of sth that has been stolen or that is illegal: a haul of jewellery / weapons * a drugs haul 2 (especially in sport) a large number of points, goals, etc: His haul of 40 goals in a season is a record. 3 [usuallysing.] the distance covered in a particular journey: They began the long slow haul to the summit. * Our camp is only a short haul from here. * Take the coast road-it'll be less of a haul (= an easier journey). * (figurative) It's going to be a long haul till you're fit again (= it will take a long time). seealsoLONG-HAUL, SHORT-HAUL 4 a quantity of fish caught at one time: The fishermen had a good haul.