hold a gun to (one's) head

(redirected from holding a gun to your head)

hold a gun to (one's) head

To force or pressure someone to do something. Kristina, you don't have to move if you don't want to—no one's holding a gun to your head.

See also: gun, head, hold

hold a gun to someone's head

Exert pressure on someone, as in How could I refuse when she was holding a gun to my head? This hyperbolic expression dates from the first half of the 1900s. Also see at gunpoint; hold one's feet to the fire.

See also: gun, head, hold

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hold a gun to someone's head

put a gun to someone's head

If someone holds a gun to your head or puts a gun to your head, they force you to do something by threatening very bad consequences if you do not do it. The union should follow the established procedures and should not try to hold a gun to the heads of the industry and passengers. Not a man to have a gun put to his head, Mr Riordan was soon tearing up the offer and cancelling future meetings with the union. Note: Other words with a similar meaning to gun are sometimes used. The banks' insistence on action has put a pistol to their heads.

See also: gun, head, hold

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

hold (or put) a gun (or a pistol) to someone's head

force someone to do something by using threats.

See also: gun, head, hold

hold/put a ˈgun to somebody’s head

force somebody to do something that they do not want to do by making threats: He had to sack a hundred workers last week. He didn’t want to, but the bank was holding a gun to his head.

hold a gun to (someone's) head

To put pressure on someone.

See also: gun, head, hold

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.