JUMP THE GUN | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of jump the gun in English

jump the gun

idiom Add to word list Add to word list to do something too soon, especially without thinking carefully about it: They've only just met - isn't it jumping the gun to be talking about marriage already? Hurrying and doing things quickly
  • accelerate
  • acceleration
  • against the clock idiom
  • against time/the clock idiom
  • alacrity
  • dispatch
  • drive-by
  • expedition
  • get a wiggle on idiom
  • grab-and-go
  • grease
  • hacky
  • haste
  • heartbeat
  • outrush
  • over-hasty
  • panic button
  • patch something together phrasal verb
  • pounce
  • precipitately
See more results »
(Definition of jump the gun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

jump the gun | American Dictionary

jump the gun

idiom Add to word list Add to word list to act too soon or before the right time: They only met three weeks ago – isn’t it jumping the gun to start talking about marriage? (Definition of jump the gun from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of jump the gun

in Chinese (Traditional) (尤指不經仔細考慮)過早地行動… See more in Chinese (Simplified) (尤指不经仔细考虑)过早地行动… See more in Spanish adelantarse a los acontecimientos, precipitarse… See more in Portuguese precipitar-se… See more in Turkish in French in Dutch in Czech in Danish in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Ukrainian ecele etmek, çabuk karar vermek, acele davranmak… See more prendre les devants… See more voorbarig zijn… See more uspěchat, jednat ukvapeně… See more tyvstarte… See more mulai sebelum waktunya… See more เริ่มต้นก่อนเวลาที่เหมาะสม… See more làm gì trước thời gian quy định… See more zbytnio się śpieszyć, pospieszyć się… See more tjuvstarta… See more tergesa-gesa memulakan sesuatu… See more voreilig handeln… See more tyvstarte… See more випереджати події… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

jump ship idiom jump shot jump squat jump stop jump the gun idiom jump the queue idiom jump the shark idiom jump through hoops idiom jump to conclusions idiom {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

Word of the Day

snugly

UK /ˈsnʌɡ.li/ US /ˈsnʌɡ.li/

in a way that feels warm, comfortable, and protected

About this

Blog

Flavour of the month (Newspaper idioms)

January 28, 2026 Read More

New Words

FOBO January 26, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI icon AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanTranslations AI icon AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
  • Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
  • Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Danish Danish–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents
  • English   Idiom
  • American   Idiom
  • Translations
  • Grammar
  • All translations
My word lists

To add jump the gun to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add jump the gun to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}

Tag » What Does Jump The Gun Mean