A pull-down is something you pull toward yourself to open, reveal, or activate it, usually by tugging downward. Think of the attic stairs in some houses: when you grab the cord and pull down, a folding staircase unfolds from the ceiling. Window shades work the same way, rolling down when you tug a cord or the shade itself.

In technology, a pull-down menu appears when you click on a word or icon at the top of your screen. The menu drops down (like pulling down a shade) to show you options. You might see pull-down menus labeled “File” or “Edit” in computer programs, revealing commands like “Save” or “Print” when you click them.

Sometimes the word describes furniture or equipment designed to fold down from a wall or ceiling. A pull-down desk might be attached flat against a wall until you pull it down to create a workspace. Pull-down maps in old classrooms worked this way too, stored rolled up above the blackboard until the teacher pulled them down for a geography lesson.