jump the gun
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.50 in modern English
25
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To begin a race too soon, before the starting gun goes off.
verb
To trade securities based on information that is not yet public; to trade on inside information.
Example Sentences
- "Unperturbed when an overanxious opponent jumped the gun in the women's 60-yd. dash, willowy Wilma Rudolph exploded perfectly from the starting blocks."
- "Taking advantage of advance press releases, gabby Walter Winchell jumped the gun a full two weeks by announcing in his radio period and tabloid column that the 1933-34 prizewinner was Men in White by Sidney Kingsley."
- "General reading readiness is assessed by tests and is also estimated by teachers who are often skillful at discerning just when a pupil is ready to learn to read. The important thing to remember is that jumping the gun is usually self-defeating."
- "The former prime minister appears to be jumping the gun, pre-empting the legal process that is just beginning to dig deeper."
- "On a train back to Boston and we're jumpin' the gun / And I'm tellin' you baby, "This the part where I'd run" / But I like it when you're nice, like it when you're nice to me"