To carry out a trick, deception, or practical joke (against someone). It turns out that the supposed alien visitors that people had been seeing were just a bunch of teenagers pulling a prank on the town. I've got a great plan to pull a prank on the school for April Fools' Day. The fake article had been in print in the renowned scientific journal for more than a week before its author revealed that he had pulled a prank when he decided to submit it.