pull someone down—
1. weaken a person in health:
- My mother tried to kill herself as her chronic degenerative disease pulled her down.
2. reduce smb. to a lower level morally; make smb. humble:
- His opponents often quoted the lackluster performance of the party during this time to pull him down.
Note: The expression is not antonymous in meaning to the phrase pull someone up—
1. make a driver bring his vehicle to a stop:
- Somebody thought it was a sidecar without the bike and even the police pulled me up and said, “is that a real car?”
2. express one’s disapproval of a person’s behavior:
- The class was full and the teacher pulled him up for being late before he got to his desk.
pull someone under—cause a person to go under water:
- At the time of the accident she saw him hanging onto a rock before the current pulled him under.