hang back

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia.

hang back

1. To stay behind as others move ahead. Hey, can you hang back for a minute? I have a question for you. I'm going to hang back for a bit and take some more pictures of the waterfall.

2. To wait to take action. Hang back on that project until I get these questions answered by the boss.

See also: back, hang

hang back

(from someone or something) to lag back behind someone or something; to stay back from someone or something, perhaps in avoidance. Why are you hanging back from the rest of the group? Come on! Don't hang back!

See also: back, hang

hang back

Be reluctant to move ahead, hold back. For example, They hung back at the entrance, fearful that they wouldn't be admitted, or We hung back to let our parents go in first. [Second half of 1500s]

See also: back, hang

hang back

1. To keep a distance behind others; lag: Everyone surged forward, but I hung back, afraid I'd be crushed. I hung back behind the popular kids as I walked through the hall.

2. To delay or hesitate on some task; hold off: You should hang back on filling out college applications until you get better test scores.

See also: back, hang

References in periodicals archive ?

Roughly a quarter of the fish in one group that was tested consistently fled from a novel intrusion poking into their pond, a yardstick with a red tip, but these apparently timid individuals were no more likely than other fish to hang back from sampling unfamiliar food.

Fish nature: sometimes shy, sometimes bold

New research indicates that, within prides, some adult females serve as aggressive leaders who readily defend territory against intruders, while others emerge as laggards who always or frequently hang back in the face of such danger.

Return of the group

Our source adds: "Derek tried to hang back to let Cheryl do her thing, but she couldn't keep her eyes off him.

We Chez want to have fun; COLE PARTIES WITH DEREK

It was a pity he got stopped when Gateman hung off the rail, and the jockey said if he had come up the rail he might have won, but he was worried Gateman could hang back in front of him.

Longchamp: Domedriver foils British pair with flying finish

Cragg opted to hang back in the 3,000m pack before making his move in the final 800m.

Athletics: Cragg's double has rich reward

If they take the plunge they could buy a property whose value will fall, but if they hang back they may end up paying more.