Meaning of hang back | Babel Free

Definitions

To wait; to falter; to avoid proceeding through reluctance.

informal

Examples

“From this one poor hunt, then, the best lance out of all Nantucket, surely he will not hang back, when every foremast-hand has clutched a whetstone?”

“Ayala’s mix-up with Dean Whitehead left Cameron Jerome advancing from the flank, probably expecting at least one opponent would come across to block off the shot. It never happened. The next defender, Ben Gibson, hung back, mistakenly thinking Jerome would look for a team-mate, and the goalkeeper, Dimitrios Konstantopoulos, also seemed to be caught in two minds.”

CEFR level