Pull vs Pill - What's the difference?

In informal|lang=en terms the difference between pull and pill

is that pull is (informal) to do or perform while pill is (informal) a small piece of any substance, for example a ball of fibres formed on the surface of a textile by rubbing.

In slang|lang=en terms the difference between pull and pill

is that pull is (slang) the act of drinking while pill is (slang) a contemptible, annoying, or unpleasant person.

As verbs the difference between pull and pill

is that pull is to apply a force to (an object) so that it comes toward the person or thing applying the force while pill is (textiles) of a woven fabric surface, to form small matted balls of fiber or pill can be (label) to peel; to remove the outer layer of hair, skin, or bark.

As nouns the difference between pull and pill

is that pull is an act of pulling (applying force) while pill is a small, usually cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication or pill can be the peel or skin or pill can be an inlet on the coast; a small tidal pool or bay.

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

pill

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) or (etyl) pille (whence (etyl) pil), probably from (etyl) pilula.

Noun

(en noun)

A small, usually cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.

* 1864 , Benjamin Ellis, The Medical Formulary [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC14843090&id=pHoMvHRmrlIC&pg=PA170&lpg=PA170&dq=%22take+two+pills%22&as_brr=1]

Take two pills every hour in the apyrexia of intermittent fever, until eight are taken.

(senseid) Contraceptive medication, usually in the form of a pill to be taken by a woman; an oral contraceptive pill.

Jane went on the pill when she left for college.

She got pregnant one month after going off the pill .

* 1986 , Jurriaan Plesman, Getting Off the Hook: Treatment of Drug Addiction and Social Disorders Through Body and Mind :

Many specialists are requesting that this vitamin be included in all contraceptive pills, as women on the pill have a tendency to be depressed.

(slang) A comical or entertaining person.

(slang) A contemptible, annoying, or unpleasant person.

* {{quote-book, year=1960

, author= , title=(Jeeves in the Offing) , section=chapter IV , passage=You see, he's egging Phyllis on to marry Wilbert Cream. [...] And when a man like that eggs, something has to give, especially when the girl's a pill like Phyllis, who always does what Daddy tells her.}}

* 2000 , Susan Isaacs, Shining Through [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0061030155&id=6_1FJWFEYGoC&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=%22a+real+pill%22&sig=RCUR5O3MhNXeq8rMOnx9-LR5Mfo]

Instead, I saw a woman in her mid-fifties, who was a real pill ; while all the others had managed a decent “So pleased,” or even a plain “Hello,” Ginger just inclined her head, as if she was doing a Queen Mary imitation.

(informal) A small piece of any substance, for example a ball of fibres formed on the surface of a textile by rubbing.

* 1999 , Wally Lamb, I Know This Much Is True [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0060987561&id=LOYeA9GmrEwC&pg=PA201&lpg=PA201&dq=%22sweater+pills%22&sig=U11GOkTpfHlqyGyIdk7ZNZ0GNuI]

One sleeve, threadbare and loaded with what my mother called “sweater pills ,” hung halfway to the floor.

A baseball.

* 2002 , John Klima, Pitched Battle: 35 of Baseball's Greatest Duels from the Mound [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0786412038&id=G126RsLD3MsC&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=%22threw+the+pill%22&sig=NmyoxWN_bP5AHc9imVPMTxY7lvw]

Mr. Fisher contributed to the Sox effort when he threw the pill past second baseman Rath after Felsch hit him a comebacker.

(firearms) (informal) a bullet (projectile)

Synonyms

* (small object for swallowing) tablet

Derived terms

* bitter pill to swallow * blue pill * chill pill * horse pill * morning-after pill * on the pill * pill beetle * pill bug * pill popper * red pill * sugar pill * pop pills

Verb

(en verb)

(textiles) Of a woven fabric surface, to form small matted balls of fiber.

* 1997 , Jo Sharp, Knitted Sweater Style: Inspirations in Color [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1561581895&id=l5h-cGU5HUYC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=sweater+pilling&sig=6gfLWBL1QHVQZmbSYhJ4oipm8Kc]

During processing, inferior short fibers (which can cause pilling and itching) are removed to enhance the natural softness of the yarn and to improve its wash-and-wear performance.

To form into the shape of a pill.

Pilling is a skill rarely used by modern pharmacists.

To medicate with pills.

She pills herself with all sorts of herbal medicines.

Etymology 2

From (etyl) .

Verb

(en verb)

(label) To peel; to remove the outer layer of hair, skin, or bark.

To peel; to make by removing the skin.

*(Bible), (w) xxx. 37

*:[Jacob] pilled white streaksin the rods.

To be peeled; to peel off in flakes.

(label) To pillage; to despoil or impoverish.

*:So syr Lucan departed for he was greuously wounded in many places And so as he yede he sawe and herkened by the mone lyght how that pyllars and robbers were comen in to the felde To pylle and robbe many a ful noble knyghte of brochys and bedys of many a good rynge & of many a ryche Iewel / and who that were not deed al oute

:(Spenser)

Noun

(en noun)

The peel or skin.

* Holland

Some be covered over with crusts, or hard pills , as the locusts.

Etymology 3

From (etyl) . More at (l).

Noun

(en noun)

An inlet on the coast; a small tidal pool or bay.

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