haul

Everyday

1. To haul something means to pull or drag it with effort, because it is heavy. tree →
2. (noun) A haul is an amount of something gained or caught, like fish in a net, stolen goods, or sweets at Halloween. tree →
3. (noun) A haul is a distance travelled: «a long haul». tree →
4. (verb, informal) To be hauled up or hauled in front of someone means to be made to go there to be told off. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life children talk about their «Halloween haul» of sweets; in sport, a player has a «haul» of goals or medals. In stories it shows effort: «They hauled the boat onto the beach». In transport, lorries haul goods. Phrases: «long haul», «haul up», «for the long haul», «haul of medals».

Examples

• We hauled the heavy bags up the stairs. tree →
• The fishermen hauled in their nets. tree →
• My Halloween haul was 40 sweets! tree →
• Police found a big haul of stolen phones. tree →
• Australia won a haul of gold medals. tree →
• It's a long haul flight to New Zealand. tree →
• He was hauled in front of the head teacher. tree →
• Then he jerked away at the rope and his brothers began to haul it up. tree →

Note

Regular verb: hauled. Homophone: «hall» (a big room or corridor) in many accents — haul and hall sound the same in UK English. «Long-haul» (with a hyphen before a noun) means a very long trip. «For the long haul» means for a long time.