pull away

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pull away (third-person singular simple present pulls away, present participle pulling away, simple past and past participle pulled away)

1. (idiomatic) To move ahead.

   Schumacher is beginning to pull away from the rest of the racers.

   • 2011 October 1, John Sinnott, “Aston Villa 2 - 0 Wigan”, in BBC Sport‎:

     As Bent pulled away to the far post, Agbonlahor opted to go it alone, motoring past Gary Caldwell before unleashing a shot into the roof of the net.

2. (transitive) To move oneself further from a target, either literally or figuratively

   She pulled away from me when I approached her.

   We used to be close, but Paul has been pulling away from me for years.