Definition

Verb (transitive or intransitive): 1. To bring or come to a stop; to cause a vehicle or vessel to stop. 2. To bring someone before an authority for questioning or reprimand; to summon.

Usage and Examples

• To stop a vehicle or vessel:
  • The truck hauled up at the loading dock.
  • The captain hauled up the ship just outside the harbor.
• To summon for reprimand or questioning:
  • The manager hauled the employee up to explain the missing inventory.
  • He was hauled up before the committee to answer the allegations.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies a sudden, deliberate, or authoritative stop or summons.
• When used for questioning, it carries a connotation of being called to account, often for a perceived fault or mistake.

Variants and Related Words

• Haul: (Verb) To pull or drag with effort. This is the root verb from which the phrasal verb is derived.
  • They used a tractor to haul the fallen tree.

Synonyms

• Pull up: (To stop a vehicle)
• Call in: (To summon for questioning)
• Summon: (To call authoritatively)

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Pull up: Very similar in meaning for stopping a vehicle. ()
• Drag up: To bring up an unpleasant or old topic. ()

Related Idioms

• To be hauled over the coals: To be severely reprimanded or criticized.
  • He was hauled over the coals for his careless mistake.

Verb

1. come to a halt after driving somewhere
   • The Rolls pulled up on pour front lawn
   • The chauffeur hauled up in front of us