holding one's fire

A form of hold one's fire — Do not discharge a weapon. Used originally for weapons needing a spark or lighting of a fuse to ignite gunpowder; now sometimes used to mean any weapon launching a projectile.

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Meanings

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of hold one's fire
Cite this entry
APA

holding one's fire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holding%20one's%20fire

MLA

“holding one's fire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holding%20one's%20fire. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “holding one's fire,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holding%20one's%20fire.

Source: holding one's fire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.