haul

The word "haul" is used when carrying things from one place to another.

• I have to haul some trash to the dump.
• That truck is hauling a shipment of food.
• The fishermen hauled in a large catch. (They caught a lot of fish.)
• We hauled all of our things across the country when we moved from New York to California.
• You can’t haul a trailer with that car. It’s too small.
• I used to haul my conference bike around town with a tilt-bed trailer.

This is my conference bike on a trailer.

When the word "haul" is used as a noun, it refers to a large amount of time or things:

• We had a good haul last weekend when we went fishing.
• John and Sofia have a long haul ahead of them. (They’re driving long distance.)
• We’re in for the long haul. (This is an expression. It means that someone is committed to a goal, even if it takes a long time to accomplish.)
• The thieves escaped with a very large haul of cash and other valuable items.

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This page was first published on June 7, 2012. It was updated on February 8, 2016.