pull a lever

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pull, lever.

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Meanings

verbpull a lever (third-person singular simple present pulls a lever, present participle pulling a lever, simple past and past participle pulled a lever)

present singular third person pulls a lever · participle present pulling a lever · participle past pulled a lever · past pulled a lever

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pull, lever.
  2. idiomatictransitiveTo vote.

    She tried to pull a lever for the mainstream candidate and it wouldn't work.

    2007, Mark Crispin Miller, Fooled Again
    1 more example

    You may dislike much about a candidate, but God calls us to make the hard choice and pull a lever for one or the other—even if it means voting less for a candidate than against another.

    2020, Stephen E. Strang, God, Trump, and the 2020 Election

Origin

In reference to older voting machines where a lever was pulled to vote for each candidate choice.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pull a lever. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20a%20lever

MLA

“pull a lever.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20a%20lever. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pull a lever,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20a%20lever.

Source: pull a lever on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.