Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

hang-fire

phrase

/ˈhæŋ faɪər/

Definition

To delay or postpone an action until a later time.

Examples

We decided to hang-fire on the project until we receive further funding.
This issue might hang-fire for a while before we can address it properly.
After the team’s initial proposal, they opted to hang-fire until they had more data.

Meaning

The term ‘hang-fire’ originates from firearms, where it refers to a situation where a gun will not fire immediately after the trigger is pulled, due to a delay in the ignition of the gunpowder.