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