as in to hesitate
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
she hung back in offering her opinion about her daughter's career choices because it wasn't her business
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hang back
After doing the work to create the transformer architecture in 2017, Google hung back and gave OpenAI the space to become a cultural phenomenon.
—
Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 8 May 2025
So, with at least the knowledge that Manny is alive and relatively in one piece, Ray drives Theresa to prison with every intention of hanging back in the car.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
The girls join three other riders on a recon ride, where Ellie and Dina hang back and chat about the New Year’s Eve dance that night.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 13 Apr. 2025
Davis won’t have Bam Adebayo tag-teaming with him defensively, allowing Davis to aggressively defend on the perimeter or hang back to protect the rim and clean the defensive glass, depending on the scenario.
—Jovan Buha, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hang back
Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 8 May 2025
So, with at least the knowledge that Manny is alive and relatively in one piece, Ray drives Theresa to prison with every intention of hanging back in the car.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
The girls join three other riders on a recon ride, where Ellie and Dina hang back and chat about the New Year’s Eve dance that night.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 13 Apr. 2025
Davis won’t have Bam Adebayo tag-teaming with him defensively, allowing Davis to aggressively defend on the perimeter or hang back to protect the rim and clean the defensive glass, depending on the scenario.
—Jovan Buha, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hang back
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hang back
Verb
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Many third-party managers hesitate to adopt centralized models, citing concerns about disruption or owner pushback.—
Tyler Christiansen,
Forbes.com,
18 July 2025
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Social media users didn't hesitate to share their thoughts on the eBay sale.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
17 July 2025
Verb
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Skills Even with the best tools, untrained teams falter.—
Saby Waraich,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
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Most of the recent job growth was in health care, social assistance, leisure and hospitality, a red flag that overall job growth may falter in the coming months.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hang back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hang%20back. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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