Pull vs Poll - What's the difference?

In transitive terms the difference between pull and poll

is that pull is to strain (a muscle, tendon, ligament, etc.) while poll is to remove the horns of (an animal).

In intransitive terms the difference between pull and poll

is that pull is to row while poll is to vote at an election.

In lang=en terms the difference between pull and poll

is that pull is the act of drinking while poll is to cut or shave smooth or even; to cut in a straight line without indentation.

As an adjective poll is

bred without horns, and thus hornless.

As a proper noun Poll is

{{given name|female|diminutive=Mary}}.

pull

English

Verb

(en verb)

to apply a force to (an object) so that it comes toward the person or thing applying the force

* Bible, Genesis viii. 9

He put forth his hand and pulled her in.

* Shakespeare

Ne'er pull your hat upon your brows.

To gather with the hand, or by drawing toward oneself; to pluck.

to pull''' fruit from a tree; to '''pull''' flax; to '''pull a finch

to apply a force such that an object comes toward the person or thing applying the force

You're going to have to pull harder to get that cork out of the bottle.

To attract or net; to pull in.

* Marcella Ridlen Ray, Changing and Unchanging Face of United States Civil Society

Television, a favored source of news and information, pulls the largest share of advertising monies.

To draw apart; to tear; to rend.

* Bible, Lam. iii. 11

He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate.

(ambitransitive, UK, Ireland, slang) to persuade (someone) to have sex with one

I pulled at the club last night.

He's pulled that bird over there.

to remove (something), especially from public circulation or availability

Each day, they pulled the old bread and set out fresh loaves.

(informal) to do or perform

He regularly pulls 12-hour days, sometimes 14.

You'll be sent home if you pull another stunt like that.

to retrieve or generate for use

I'll have to pull a part number for that.

* 2006 , Michael Bellomo, Joel Elad, How to Sell Anything on Amazon...and Make a Fortune!

They'll go through their computer system and pull a report of all your order fulfillment records for the time period you specify.

to toss a frisbee with the intention of launching the disc across the length of a field

to row

* 1874 , (Marcus Clarke), (For the Term of His Natural Life) Chapter VI

It had been a sort of race hitherto, and the rowers, with set teeth and compressed lips, had pulled stroke for stroke.

To strain (a muscle, tendon, ligament, etc.).

(video games, ambitransitive) To draw (a hostile non-player character) into combat, or toward or away from some location or target.

* 2003 April 9, "Richard Lawson" (username), " Monual's Willful Ignorance", in alt.games.everquest, Usenet:

…we had to clear a long hallway, run up half way, pull the boss mob to us, and engage.

* 2004 October 18, "Stush" (username), " Re: focus pull", in alt.games.dark-age-of-camelot, Usenet:

Basically buff pet, have it pull lots of mobs, shield pet, chain heal pet, have your aoe casters finish off hurt mobs once pet gets good aggro.

* 2005 August 2, "Brian" (username), " Re: How to tank Stratholme undead pulls?", in alt.games.warcraft, Usenet:

This is the only thing that should get you to break off from your position, is to pull something off the healer.

* 2007 April 10, "John Salerno" (username), " Re: Managing the Command Buttons", in alt.games.warcraft, Usenet:

You could also set a fire trap, pull the mob toward it, then send in your pet….

* 2008 August 18, "Mark (newsgroups)" (username), " Re: I'm a priest now!", in alt.games.warcraft, Usenet:

Shield yourself, pull' with Mind Blast if you want, or merely ' pull with SW:P to save mana, then wand, fear if you need to, but use the lowest rank fear.

to score a certain amount of points in a sport.

* How many points did you pull today, Albert?

(horse-racing) To hold back, and so prevent from winning.

The favourite was pulled .

(printing, dated) To take or make (a proof or impression); so called because hand presses were worked by pulling a lever.

(cricket) To strike the ball in a particular manner. (See noun sense.)

* R. H. Lyttelton

Never pull a straight fast ball to leg.

(UK, slang) To pour beer from a pump, keg, or other source.

Let's stop at Finnigan's. The barkeep ''pulls'' a good pint.

Synonyms

* drag, tow, tug, yank * score * (to remove from circulation) recall, withdraw, yank * (sense) carry out, complete, do, execute, perform * (to retrieve or generate for use) generate, get, get hold of, get one's hands on, lay one's hands on, obtain, retrieve * score

Antonyms

* push, repel, shove

Derived terms

See also pulling * it's not the whistle that pulls the train * overpull * pull a... * pull about * pull a face * pull a fast one * pull ahead * pull away * pull back * pull down * pull for * pull in * pulling * pull in one's horns * pull off * pull oneself together * pull one's weight * pull out * pull out all the stops * pull out of the fire * pull over * pull-quote * pull rank * pull round * pull somebody's leg * pull the other one * * pull the wool over someone's eyes * pull through * pull together * pull up

Noun

(en noun)

An act of pulling (applying force)

He gave the hair a sharp pull and it came out.

* Jonathan Swift

I awakened with a violent pull upon the ring which was fastened at the top of my box.

An attractive force which causes motion towards the source

The spaceship came under the pull of the gas giant.

iron fillings drawn by the pull of a magnet

She took a pull on her cigarette.

Any device meant to be pulled, as a lever, knob, handle, or rope

a zipper pull

(slang, dated) Something in one's favour in a comparison or a contest; an advantage; means of influencing.

In weights the favourite had the pull .

Appeal or attraction (as of a movie star)

(Internet, uncountable) The situation where a client sends out a request for data from a server, as in server pull'', ''pull technology

A journey made by rowing

* 1874 , (Marcus Clarke), (For the Term of His Natural Life) Chapter V

As Blunt had said, the burning ship lay a good twelve miles from the Malabar, and the pull was a long and a weary one. Once fairly away from the protecting sides of the vessel that had borne them thus far on their dismal journey, the adventurers seemed to have come into a new atmosphere.

(dated) A contest; a struggle.

a wrestling pull

(Carew)

(obsolete, poetic) Loss or violence suffered.

* Shakespeare

Two pulls at once; / His lady banished, and a limb lopped off.

(slang) The act of drinking.

to take a pull at a mug of beer

(Charles Dickens)

(cricket) A kind of stroke by which a leg ball is sent to the off side, or an off ball to the side.

* R. A. Proctor

The pull is not a legitimate stroke, but bad cricket.

Synonyms

* (act of pulling) tug, yank * (attractive force) attraction * (device meant to be pulled) handle, knob, lever, rope * (influence) influence, sway

Antonyms

* (act of pulling) push, shove * (attractive force) repulsion * (device meant to be pulled) button, push, push button * (influence)

Derived terms

* on the pull * pull cord * ring-pull

poll

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) pol, polle . Meaning "collection of votes" is first recorded 1625, from notion of "counting heads".

Alternative forms

* pol, pole

Noun

(en noun)

An election or a survey of a particular group of people.

The student council had a poll to see what people want served in the cafeteria.

* Blackstone

All soldiers quartered in place are to remove and not to return till one day after the poll is ended.

A number or aggregate of heads; a list or register of individuals, especially electors.

* Shakespeare

We are the greater poll , and in true fear / They gave us our demands.

* Shakespeare

The muster file, rotten and sound, upon my life, amounts not to fifteen thousand poll .

(usually, as plural) A place where voters cast ballots.

The polls close at 8 p.m.

Hair

* 1883 ,

...the doctor, as if to hear better, had taken off his powdered wig, and sat there, looking very strange indeed with his own close-cropped black poll .

The head, especially its top part.

* 1908 ,

And you might perceive the president and general manager, Mr. R. G. Atterbury, with his priceless polished poll , busy in the main office room dictating letters..

The broad or butt end of an axe or a hammer.

A fish, the pollard or European chub.

Synonyms

* (election or survey) election, survey * (hair) hair

Derived terms

* opinion poll * polling * rolly polly * straw poll * tadpole

Verb

(en verb)

To take, record the votes of (an electorate).

To solicit mock votes from (a person or group).

To vote at an election.

(Beaconsfield)

To register or deposit, as a vote; to elicit or call forth, as votes or voters.

He polled a hundred votes more than his opponent.

* Tickell

poll for points of faith his trusty vote

To cut off; to remove by clipping, shearing, etc.; to mow or crop.

to poll''' the hair; to '''poll''' wool; to '''poll grass

* Chapman

Who, as he polled' off his dart's head, so sure he had decreed / That all the counsels of their war he would ' poll off like it.

To cut the hair of (a creature).

* Bible, 2 Sam. xiv. 26

when he [Absalom] polled his head

* Sir T. North

His death did so grieve them that they polled themselves; they clipped off their horse and mule's hairs.

To remove the horns of (an animal).

To remove the top or end of; to clip; to lop.

to poll a tree

(transitive, computing, communication) To (repeatedly) request the status of something (such as a computer or printer on a network).

The network hub polled the department's computers to determine which ones could still respond.

(with adverb) To be judged in a poll.

* 2008 , Joanne McEvoy, The politics of Northern Ireland (page 171)

The election was a resounding defeat for Robert McCartney who polled badly in the six constituencies he contested and even lost his own Assembly seat in North Down.

(obsolete) To extort from; to plunder; to strip.

* Spenser

which polls and pills the poor in piteous wise

To impose a tax upon.

To pay as one's personal tax.

* Dryden

the man that polled but twelve pence for his head

To enter, as polls or persons, in a list or register; to enroll, especially for purposes of taxation; to enumerate one by one.

* Milton

polling the reformed churches whether they equalize in number those of his three kingdoms

(legal) To cut or shave smooth or even; to cut in a straight line without indentation.

a polled deed

(Burrill)

Adjective

(head)

(of kinds of livestock which typically have horns) Bred without horns, and thus hornless.

Poll Hereford

Red Poll cows

* 1757 , The monthly review, or, literary journal , volume 17, page 416:

Sheep, that is, the Horned sort, and those without Horns, called Poll Sheep [...]

* 1960 , Frank O'Loghlen, Frank H. Johnston, Cattle country: an illustrated survey of the Australian beef cattle industry, a complete directory of the studs , page 85:

About 15000 cattle, comprising 10000 Hereford and Poll' Hereford, 4000 Aberdeen Angus and 1000 Shorthorn and ' Poll Shorthorn, are grazed [...]

* 1970 , The Pastoral review , volume 80, page 457:

Otherwise, both horned and poll sheep continue to be bred from an inner stud.

Etymology 2

Perhaps a shortening of (Polly), a common name for pet parrots.

Noun

(en noun)

A pet parrot.

Etymology 3

From (etyl)

Noun

(en noun)

(UK, dated, Cambridge University) One who does not try for honors at university, but is content to take a degree merely; a passman.

References

* English heteronyms ----