Phrases & IdiomsPhrase guide

Pull Your Weight

“Pull Your Weight” means to do your fair share of the work in a group. The guide stays with current documented meaning and does not add unsupported origin chronology.

Quick answer

“Pull Your Weight” means to do your fair share of the work in a group.

Key details

Canonical FormPull Your Weight
Core Meaningto do your fair share of the work in a group

Further guidance

History Boundary

This guide explains the current documented meaning and does not claim a single inventor, exact coinage date, or absolute first use without direct historical evidence.

Meaning

to do your fair share of the work in a group

Usage Boundary

It concerns contributing the expected share of group effort, not physical weight or merely being present.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. PULL YOUR WEIGHT — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Dictionary evidence for the current meaning of pull your weight

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