hold fire

present singular third person holds fire · participle present holding fire · participle past held fire · past held fire

1. intransitiveTo wait for an opportunity to shoot (with a firearm) at something or someone.

   Antonyms: open fire, fire

   1. imperativeintransitiveDo not fire.

      Hold fire!

      1 more example

      Hold your fire!

      Antonyms: open fire, fire, open fire, fire

2. intransitiveTo delay taking action.

   1 more example

   I have seen so much really credible evidence that the situation did not devolve the way we're being told it did. And then, another body of credible evidence that it was very different from what we're being told it is that I'm holding fire until I see the Warren Commission report on the assissination of JFK.

   2025 September 23, Lawrence Wilkerson, Nima R Alkhorshid's Dialogue Works, YouTube

   Synonyms: hold up, hold on