How do you say “Jump the gun” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is actuar antes de tiempo, which literally means “to act before the time”. English speakers use jump the gun to mean to act too soon, before the right time or signal. A plain Spanish way to describe acting too early. It preserves the timing without the racing image. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
actuar antes de tiempo
/akˈtwaɾ ˈantes ðe ˈtjempo/
- Literal meaning
- “to act before the time”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
92 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
The phrase works when someone should have waited for a reply, a result or permission. The surrounding sentence explains why it was too soon.
“Adelantarse” can also express acting early, but is not always critical. “Antes de tiempo” makes the bad timing clearer.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
I jumped the gun and sent invitations before the venue confirmed our booking.
Spanish
Actué antes de tiempo y envié las invitaciones antes de que el local confirmara la reserva.
English
Are we jumping the gun by celebrating before the results arrive?
Spanish
¿Estamos actuando antes de tiempo al celebrarlo sin que hayan llegado los resultados?
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-10-01