verb phrase🎓 English idiom

jump the gun

to act too soon

What it means

To jump the gun means to start something or act too soon, before the right or proper time. It's used when someone is hasty and proceeds before all the necessary conditions or information are in place.

Examples

  • Don't jump the gun and announce the news before it's confirmed.
  • We jumped the gun by booking the venue before checking the date.
  • He jumped the gun and celebrated before the results were final.
  • I may have jumped the gun assuming I'd got the job.

Where it comes from

The phrase comes from track and field, where a runner who starts before the starting pistol fires is said to 'jump the gun,' a false start.

Related idioms

#at the drop of a hat#put the cart before the horse#hold your horses#throw caution to the wind

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