haul

Where “haul” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   To transport by drawing or pulling, as with horses or oxen, or a motor vehicle.
2. 2
   To draw or pull something heavy.
3. 3
   To carry or transport something, with a connotation that the item is heavy or otherwise difficult to move.
4. 4
   To drag, to pull, to tug.
5. 5
   Followed by up: to summon to be disciplined or held answerable for something.
6. 6
   To pull apart, as oxen sometimes do when yoked.
7. 7
   To steer (a vessel) closer to the wind.
8. 8
   Of the wind: to shift fore (more towards the bow).
9. 9
   To haul ass (“go fast”).

Etymology

From Middle English hālen, hailen, haulen, halien (“to drag, pull; to draw up”), from Old French haler (“to haul, pull”), from Frankish *halōn (“to drag, fetch, haul”) or Middle Dutch halen (“to drag, fetch, haul”), possibly merging with Old English *halian (“to haul, drag”); all from Proto-Germanic *halōną, *halēną, *hulōną (“to call, fetch, summon”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, cry, summon”). The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates The word is cognate with Danish hale (“to haul”), Middle Dutch halen (“to draw, fetch, haul”), Dutch halen (“to fetch, bring, haul”), Old Frisian halia, Saterland Frisian halen (“to draw, haul, pull”), Low German halen (“to draw, pull”), Old High German halôn, holôn, German holen (“to fetch, get”), Norwegian hale (“to haul”), Old Saxon halôn (“to fetch, get”), Swedish hala (“to hale, haul, pull, tug”), and related to Old English ġeholian (“to get, obtain”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ahul,halu,haull,hhaul,hual

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of haul - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Frequently Asked Questions