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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

hold fire en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To wait for an opportunity to shoot (with a firearm) at something or someone.
  2. (imperative, intransitive) To wait for an opportunity to shoot (with a firearm) at something or someone. ▸ Do not fire.
    • Hold fire!
    • Hold your fire!
  3. (intransitive) To delay taking action.
    • 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:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
holds fire Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
holding fire Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
held fire Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
held fire Tense=Past lexicographic

Antonyms

fire · fire · open fire · open fire

Coordinates

fire at will · fire at will

Synonyms

hold up · hold on