AAAmerican Accent US

pull through

No object

This verb takes no object at all.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: pull THROUGH. Saying “PULL through” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

No pause between the words. /l/ runs straight into /θ/ — “pull through” is one rhythmic unit with a single stressed beat on the particle. Watch the TH in “through” — tongue tip between the teeth, voiceless. Swapping it for /t/ or /s/ is the usual slip.

What it means

  1. To survive a serious illness or crisis.

    • “The doctors weren't sure he'd pull through.”
    • “It was a hard year, but the business pulled through.”

    Similar: survive, recover

The particle logic

through

Something passes from one end of an obstacle to the other.

Listen + practice

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More PULL phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

pull over

To move a vehicle to the side of the road and stop.

pull out

To withdraw from an agreement or activity.

pull off

To succeed at something difficult.

pull up

(Of a vehicle) to stop.

pull down

To demolish a building.

pull apart

To separate something into pieces by force.

pull through — meaning, examples & how to say it