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Hang back   /hæŋ bæk/   Listen
verb
Hang  v. i.  (past & past part. hung; pres. part. hanging)  
1.
To be suspended or fastened to some elevated point without support from below; to dangle; to float; to rest; to remain; to stay.
2.
To be fastened in such a manner as to allow of free motion on the point or points of suspension.
3.
To die or be put to death by suspension from the neck. (R.) "Sir Balaam hangs."
4.
To hold for support; to depend; to cling; usually with on or upon; as, this question hangs on a single point. "Two infants hanging on her neck."
5.
To be, or be like, a suspended weight. "Life hangs upon me, and becomes a burden."
6.
To hover; to impend; to appear threateningly; usually with over; as, evils hang over the country.
7.
To lean or incline; to incline downward. "To decide which way hung the victory." "His neck obliquely o'er his shoulder hung."
8.
To slope down; as, hanging grounds.
9.
To be undetermined or uncertain; to be in suspense; to linger; to be delayed. "A noble stroke he lifted high, Which hung not, but so swift with tempest fell On the proud crest of Satan."
10.
(Cricket, Tennis, etc.) Of a ball: To rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on the ball or imperfections of ground.
11.
(Baseball) To fail to curve, break, or drop as intended; said of pitches, such as curve balls or sliders.
12.
(Computers) To cease to operate normally and remain suspended in some state without performing useful work; said of computer programs, computers, or individual processes within a program; as, when using Windows 3.1, my system would hang and need rebooting several times a day. Note: this situation could be caused by bugs within an operating system or within a program, or incompatibility between programs or between programs and the hardware.
To hang around, to loiter idly about.
To hang back, to hesitate; to falter; to be reluctant. "If any one among you hangs back."
To hang by the eyelids.
(a)
To hang by a very slight hold or tenure.
(b)
To be in an unfinished condition; to be left incomplete.
To hang in doubt, to be in suspense.
To hang on (with the emphasis on the preposition), to keep hold; to hold fast; to stick; to be persistent, as a disease.
To hang on the lips To hang on the words, etc., to be charmed by eloquence.
To hang out.
(a)
To be hung out so as to be displayed; to project.
(b)
To be unyielding; as, the juryman hangs out against an agreement; to hold out. (Colloq.)
(c)
to loiter or lounge around a particular place; as, teenageers tend to hang out at the mall these days.
To hang over.
(a)
To project at the top.
(b)
To impend over.
To hang to, to cling.
To hang together.
(a)
To remain united; to stand by one another. "We are all of a piece; we hang together."
(b)
To be self-consistent; as, the story does not hang together. (Colloq.)
To hang upon.
(a)
To regard with passionate affection.
(b)
(Mil.) To hover around; as, to hang upon the flanks of a retreating enemy.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Hang back" Quotes from Famous Books



... hill I saw that my mother, and doubtless Mr. Downes, were in the drawing room. It was long past the dinner hour. I drove Paul up onto the veranda and towards a French window that opened into the illuminated room. He began to hang back again. ...
— Swept Out to Sea - Clint Webb Among the Whalers • W. Bertram Foster

... be the one to hang back and spoil every one's fun," she said to herself, "They wouldn't let me go home the shorter way by myself. It would only break up the pah'ty if I proposed it. But I do not see how I can evah drag myself all the way around ...
— The Little Colonel's Christmas Vacation • Annie Fellows Johnston

... the crown as well as to bestow it; to meet the powers of darkness with the powers of light; to bring their potent aid to the eternal conquest of right. And let me say here to those women who not only hang back from this encounter but who throw obstacles in the way of true reform and progress, that the shallow ground upon which they stand is within the belt of the moral earthquake, and that what they build upon it ...
— The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV • Various

... Rip! You're not going to hang back on the crowd, are you?" uttered one boy, reproachfully. "Don't spoil the ...
— The High School Pitcher - Dick & Co. on the Gridley Diamond • H. Irving Hancock

... fun. We left one sledge on the top of ski-slope and just took what was necessary on the other, such as our bags, etc. It was my first experience of steep downhill sledging. Instead of anybody pulling forward we all had to hang back and guide the sledge down the slippery incline without letting it take charge or getting upset. It is great fun. On reaching the head of the Bay, however, we had quite a dangerous little bit to cross. Here it was swept of snow and there was nothing but glassy ice ...
— The Worst Journey in the World, Volumes 1 and 2 - Antarctic 1910-1913 • Apsley Cherry-Garrard


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