"hang fire" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "hangs fire",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "hanging fire",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "hung fire",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "hung fire",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "hang<,,hung> fire"
      },
      "expansion": "hang fire (third-person singular simple present hangs fire, present participle hanging fire, simple past and past participle hung fire)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1841, Edward Costello, The adventures of a soldier:",
          "text": "[…] a number of Portuguese soldiers entered, one of whom, taking me for a Frenchman, for I had the French soldier's jacket on, my own being wet, snapped his piece at me, which luckily hung fire.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To fail to fire immediately when the trigger is pulled."
      ],
      "id": "en-hang_fire-en-verb-OXThApPu",
      "links": [
        [
          "fail",
          "fail"
        ],
        [
          "fire",
          "fire"
        ],
        [
          "immediately",
          "immediately"
        ],
        [
          "trigger",
          "trigger"
        ],
        [
          "pull",
          "pull"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(of a firearm) To fail to fire immediately when the trigger is pulled."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a firearm"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "We were told to hang fire on the decision until management came back with a proposal.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 13”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:",
          "text": "“I’m just goin’ ter settle this little ——, that’s all,” said Dawes desperately.\n“What do you mean?” snapped Thomas Jordan.\n“What I say,” said Dawes, but he hung fire.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1993, Dana Stabenow, A Fatal Thaw, →ISBN, page 132:",
          "text": "Kevin hung fire where he was, staring at Chaney's body with dilated eyes and a slowly greening complexion.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To wait or hold back."
      ],
      "id": "en-hang_fire-en-verb-1yfi67W~",
      "links": [
        [
          "wait",
          "wait"
        ],
        [
          "hold back",
          "hold back"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) To wait or hold back."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "hang fire"
  ],
  "word": "hang fire"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "hang fires",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "hang fire (plural hang fires)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Firearms",
          "orig": "en:Firearms",
          "parents": [
            "Weapons",
            "Hunting",
            "Military",
            "Tools",
            "Human activity",
            "Society",
            "Technology",
            "Human behaviour",
            "All topics",
            "Human",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "70 17 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "63 18 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "70 10 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The situation when a gun does not immediately fire when the trigger is pulled, but may fire shortly after."
      ],
      "id": "en-hang_fire-en-noun-Iuic3N1i",
      "links": [
        [
          "firearm",
          "firearm"
        ],
        [
          "gun",
          "gun"
        ],
        [
          "immediately",
          "immediately"
        ],
        [
          "fire",
          "fire"
        ],
        [
          "trigger",
          "trigger"
        ],
        [
          "pull",
          "pull"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(firearms) The situation when a gun does not immediately fire when the trigger is pulled, but may fire shortly after."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "hangfire"
        },
        {
          "word": "hang-fire"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "engineering",
        "firearms",
        "government",
        "military",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "politics",
        "tools",
        "war",
        "weaponry"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "hang fire"
  ],
  "word": "hang fire"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "hangs fire",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "hanging fire",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "hung fire",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "hung fire",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "hang<,,hung> fire"
      },
      "expansion": "hang fire (third-person singular simple present hangs fire, present participle hanging fire, simple past and past participle hung fire)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1841, Edward Costello, The adventures of a soldier:",
          "text": "[…] a number of Portuguese soldiers entered, one of whom, taking me for a Frenchman, for I had the French soldier's jacket on, my own being wet, snapped his piece at me, which luckily hung fire.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To fail to fire immediately when the trigger is pulled."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fail",
          "fail"
        ],
        [
          "fire",
          "fire"
        ],
        [
          "immediately",
          "immediately"
        ],
        [
          "trigger",
          "trigger"
        ],
        [
          "pull",
          "pull"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(of a firearm) To fail to fire immediately when the trigger is pulled."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a firearm"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "We were told to hang fire on the decision until management came back with a proposal.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 13”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:",
          "text": "“I’m just goin’ ter settle this little ——, that’s all,” said Dawes desperately.\n“What do you mean?” snapped Thomas Jordan.\n“What I say,” said Dawes, but he hung fire.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1993, Dana Stabenow, A Fatal Thaw, →ISBN, page 132:",
          "text": "Kevin hung fire where he was, staring at Chaney's body with dilated eyes and a slowly greening complexion.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To wait or hold back."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "wait",
          "wait"
        ],
        [
          "hold back",
          "hold back"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) To wait or hold back."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "hang fire"
  ],
  "word": "hang fire"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "hang fires",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "hang fire (plural hang fires)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Firearms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The situation when a gun does not immediately fire when the trigger is pulled, but may fire shortly after."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "firearm",
          "firearm"
        ],
        [
          "gun",
          "gun"
        ],
        [
          "immediately",
          "immediately"
        ],
        [
          "fire",
          "fire"
        ],
        [
          "trigger",
          "trigger"
        ],
        [
          "pull",
          "pull"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(firearms) The situation when a gun does not immediately fire when the trigger is pulled, but may fire shortly after."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "engineering",
        "firearms",
        "government",
        "military",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "politics",
        "tools",
        "war",
        "weaponry"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "hangfire"
    },
    {
      "word": "hang-fire"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "hang fire"
  ],
  "word": "hang fire"
}