hang back
Britishverb
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"If we hang back and stand still this will just run right over the top of us," he said in the speech at the University of Sydney.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
The Familiar will know whether to run up or to hang back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
Whether donning a tracksuit to join a fun-run along Windhoek's Independence Avenue, or insisting his driver hang back from official motorcades, he aimed to be a man of the people.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2025
“It may make sense for females to hang back with calves that are vulnerable,” said lead author Jennifer Tennessen, a senior research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for Ecosystem Sentinels.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2023
Syracuse and, surprisingly, mighty Cornell— the Big Red hope of the East—continued to hang back with Washington, perhaps playing their game.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
