jump the gun

Idioms  

1. Start doing something too soon, act too hastily. For example, The local weather bureau jumped the gun on predicting a storm; it didn't happen for another two days. This expression alludes to starting a race before the starter's gun has gone off, and supplants the earlier beat the pistol, which dates from about 1900. [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jump the gun

These decisions may well stand on their own, and lower courts have no license to jump the gun and declare them “implicitly overruled.”

From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2026

Further questions were raised last week when the British military seemed to jump the gun in announcing Kate would attend a Trooping the Color ceremony in June, apparently without consulting palace officials.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 11, 2024

"We do not want to jump the gun on an announcement but I think it is quite likely that it will be a significant investment in our relationship with India," he told reporters.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2023

“People will sort of jump the gun and see that we’ve turned on the map even before we’ve officially announced it,” said Elizabeth Reina-Longoria, the communications director at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2023

"But I don't like boys who jump the gun."

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds