hold one's fire
The phrase "hold one's fire" has both literal and figurative uses, originating from military contexts but now common in everyday language.
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Definition
B2Military
(technical)To temporarily stop shooting or attacking.
Example
- The commander ordered the troops to hold their fire until the enemy was in range.
B2General
(idiomatic, colloquial)To wait and not react impulsively or aggressively.
Example
- Hold your fire and let me explain what happened.
B2Criticism
(idiomatic, colloquial)To withhold criticism or judgment.
Example
- She decided to hold her fire until she had all the facts.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "hold one's fire":
hold firehang firehold offhold one's breathkeep one's counselcease firehold one's watersit on one's handshold one's pisshold backkeep quiethold inhold the forthold one's peekeep one's head downhold tostick to one's gunshold withfire offdry firestand downunder firecall off the dogshold itlay lowhold the phone