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Glite Dictionary
to pull the trigger

to pull the trigger

96 4.9
Decide to do something after thinking about it for a while
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : decidirse
  • He hesitated for a moment, but he knew he had to pull the trigger and accept the job offer.
  • time to pull the trigger
  • ready to pull the trigger
  • finally pulled the trigger

Yeah, and you just know it's time, so pull the trigger and get out.

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Examples

  • If that had not happened, I mean, I was ready to pull the trigger, so to speak, although that wasn't how I was going to go.

  • As time goes on now obviously there are other people watching, going, but thinking the same thing, like at what point am I going to pull the trigger on this plot?

  • Yeah, and you just know it's time, so pull the trigger and get out.

    High Performance

  • Just do it, pull the trigger.

    The Whittler (2020)

  • Sorry to see that you were so quick to pull the trigger on returning your Surface.

    Blog text (19)

  • But most people never pull the trigger because it's scary.

  • So what's sort of the deciding factor that helps you pull the trigger, so to speak, to launch the campaign?

  • So I ended up pulling the trigger and committing to UCLA as that time went on.

    Bussin' With The Boys

  • After considering all the options, she finally decided to pull the trigger on her new business venture.

  • It's time to pull the trigger and purchase that house you've been dreaming about.

Synonyms

to make a move
vsto pull the trigger
119 3.2

To start doing something yourself after waiting or thinking

is a firm, final choice to act after hesitating
to make the call
vsto pull the trigger
98 3.7

To decide what to do in an important situation

ends hesitation with a final decisive action
to come to a decision
vsto pull the trigger
18 2.7

Choose what to do after thinking about the choices

moves from conclusion to a decisive final act
to up and decide
vsto pull the trigger
  • Informal
1 7.8

To suddenly choose to do something without planning

is a deliberate final choice made after some hesitation

Antonyms

to hesitate
318 2.5

To pause before saying or doing something because you feel unsure

to refrain
87 4.2

Choose not to do something you want to do

How Decisive

to pull the trigger
  • Informal
96 4.9
to act
∞ 1.0
to decide
∞ 1.0
to hesitate
318 2.5
to waver
52 5.7

Surface Forms

pull the trigger infinitive
pulled the trigger past
pulled the trigger past participle
pulling the trigger present participle
pulls the trigger third person singular

Morphology

pull + the + trigger

The metaphorical sense 'make a decisive decision' is partly derivable from combining 'pull' (to cause or activate) with 'trigger' (an initiator), since literally pulling a trigger starts an event; however the specific nuance of finalising a decision after hesitation is a metaphorical extension that a B1 learner may not fully predict without prior exposure. This construction relies on a mechanical-to-decision metaphor that exists in some languages but still requires pragmatic inference, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Pull the trigger comes from the image of a gun: you pull the trigger with your finger and the gun fires at once. Because firing is a final act that cannot be undone, the phrase now means 'to make a final decision' or 'to take decisive action', often after some hesitation.