hang back

verb

1. intr, adverboften foll byfrom to be reluctant to go forward or carry on (with some activity)

Idioms and Phrases

Be reluctant to move ahead, hold back. For example, They hung back at the entrance, fearful that they wouldn't be admitted , or We hung back to let our parents go in first . [Second half of 1500s]

Example Sentences

It's the same with every other family we see all week: the parents ask the questions and the children hang back, taking it all in.

From The Daily Beast

The very excess of her eagerness alarmed her, and she began to hang back.

From Project Gutenberg

Shall we, His children, hang back and thwart Him, just in the hour when He has put the victory in our hands?

From Project Gutenberg

The lady, finding that her lover continues to hang back, dries her tears, and very properly gets married to another man.

From Project Gutenberg

He dashes across the river which separates the two armies, although his followers hang back.

From Project Gutenberg

When the horse found that he could not hang back, he bolted.

From Project Gutenberg