hang

HANG/hæŋ/

Verbhangs, hanging, hung

Noun pluralhangs

28 meanings of hang

Practice

1
suspendedverbintransitive
To be suspended or remain held up from a support.
Heavy curtains hang from the brass rod across the window.
A single bulb hung from the ceiling on a frayed cord.
UsagePast form hung: a bulb hung from the ceiling. Hanged is used for death by hanging.
Similardangle
Note
It inverts readily in description, as in Mrs. Belloc Lowndes's The Lodger (1913): "On the dark-green walls hung a series of eight engravings."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Mrs. Belloc Lowndes wrote The Lodger. en.wikisource.org
The Lodger was first published as a novel in 1913. en.wikipedia.org
The quoted words occur in the narration of The Lodger. gutenberg.org
2
spend timeverbcolloquialintransitive
To loiter or pass time idly, usually in a relaxed, unhurried way.
They hang downtown most weekends with nothing planned.
He hung near the entrance, waiting for the doors to open.
UsageUse with to name the company: hang with friends. Hang out also expresses this meaning.
Similarloiter, linger, lounge, idle, chill
Note
A clipping of hang out and hang around, and more casual than either: "I was just hanging." When company is involved it takes with, as in Scuba Diving (2006), where powerful people "began to hang with him." The same idle sense feeds the noun for a get-together and the word for good company.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
Scuba Diving contains the quoted wording, attributed to its 2006 issues. en.wiktionary.org
3
verbtransitive
To attach something so that it is held up from above, as on a hook, hanger, or hinges, including putting pictures or artwork on a wall for display.
Workers hang the heavy doors on their hinges once the frames are set.
He hung the lantern from a beam in the barn.
UsagePast form hung: he hung the lantern. To hang a door is to fit it on its hinges.
Similarsuspend, mount
Note
The causative sense, and the one carpenters use when they hang a door, which means fitting it on its hinges rather than merely suspending it. The King James Bible of 1611 has "a millstone were hanged about his neck," using hanged for an ordinary weight where modern English would say hung. Today the split between the two pasts belongs to the execution sense.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The King James Bible was first published in 1611. bridwell.omeka.net
The King James Bible uses the quoted wording, with hanged referring to a millstone, in Luke 17:2. gutenberg.org
4
verbtransitive
To kill someone, or be killed, by suspending them by the neck with a rope, usually as a form of execution or suicide.
The court ordered that they hang the convicted traitor.
Authorities hanged the prisoner before a large crowd.
UsageThe standard past form for death by hanging is hanged: he was hanged at dawn. Other meanings normally use hung.
5
droopverbtransitive
To hold or let droop in a lowered or inclined position rather than upright.
She hung her head, unable to meet their eyes.
The scolded boy would hang his head whenever questioned.
UsageUsually hang your head, often in shame.
Similarbow, lower, droop, drop
Oppositeraise, lift
6
float in airverbintransitive
To float or appear suspended in the air.
Storm clouds hang low above the hills before the rain.
Dust hung in the bright shaft of sunlight.
UsageOften hang in the air or hang low.
Similarhover, float, linger
7
skillnouncolloquialfiguratively
A working knack or grasp of how to do something.
After a few tries, she finally got the hang of parallel parking.
He never quite got the hang of speaking in public.
UsageUsually in get the hang of + noun or -ing: get the hang of driving.
Similarknack, grasp, feel

Less common meanings

8
verbintransitive
Of a computer or program, to stop responding to input; also, to cause a computer or program to freeze in this way.
Older machines hang whenever the memory fills up completely.
The application hung for several minutes before crashing.
UsageThe past tense and past participle are hung: the computer hung again; a bug hung the program.
Similarfreeze, lock up
Note
A hang is not a crash. The program is still running but no longer answers the keyboard or mouse. The usual cure is to force it to quit, and when the whole system hangs, sometimes not even answering Ctrl+Alt+Del, a forced restart.
9
stay in mindverbfigurativelyintransitive
Of a memory, words, or the like, to linger stubbornly in someone's mind.
Those last words hang in my memory even now.
Her parting remark hung in his mind for the rest of the day.
UsageOften hang in someone's mind or memory.
Similarlinger, persist, remain, loom, hover
Oppositefade
10
block a verdictverbtransitive
To prevent a group, especially a jury required to be unanimous, from reaching a decision by refusing to agree.
One holdout juror can hang the jury and force a mistrial.
His insistence on acquittal hung the jury after a week of deliberation.
UsageMostly in hang the jury and a hung jury.
Similardeadlock
11
meeting placenouncolloquialcountable
A casual get-together for relaxing and spending time with others, or a place where people gather to do this.
The rooftop bar became their regular hang during the summer.
She suggested a new hang where the whole group could meet.
UsageOften a good hang or a fun hang.
Similarhaunt, spot, joint, place
Note
In practice the noun names an occasion as often as a place. People come over "for a hang" or plan one within a 90-minute time-frame (InStyle, 2021), and Andrew Marantz called a live stream "a good hang" in The New Yorker in 2025.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
InStyle published the example about planning a hang within a 90-minute time-frame in 2021; Wiktionary reproduces it and dates it April 14, 2021. en.wiktionary.org
Andrew Marantz described a live stream as a good hang in The New Yorker in 2025. newyorker.com
12
decorateverbtransitive
To decorate something by adorning it with hanging objects.
Each year they hang the doorway with garlands of holly.
Villagers hung the square with lanterns for the festival.
UsageThe place is the object, and with brings in the decoration: hang the hall with lanterns.
Similardecorate, adorn, deck, festoon, drape
13
wallpaperverbtransitive
To fix wallpaper or sheets of drywall onto a wall or ceiling.
The crew will hang drywall across the whole ceiling this week.
She hung patterned wallpaper in the dining room over the weekend.
Similarinstall, apply, fix
Oppositestrip, remove
14
a freezenouncountable
An occasion on which a program or computer stops responding to input.
The update introduced a hang that froze the app on startup.
Testers reported a brief hang whenever the database was queried.
Similarfreeze, stall, lockup
15
to hell withverbcolloquialtransitive
To damn or curse, used as an expression of anger or annoyance toward something.
Hang the consequences, I'm telling them the truth.
She looked at the long line for the bus and said, "Oh, hang it, let's just take a taxi."
Similardamn, blast, curse
Note
A mild oath in the imperative: hang, followed by whatever you are fed up with. A character in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908) flings down his brush with "Bother!", "O blow!" and "Hang spring-cleaning!", and that company shows its strength: exasperated, not obscene.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Kenneth Grahame wrote The Wind in the Willows. en.wikisource.org
The Wind in the Willows was first published in 1908. en.wikisource.org
A character, Mole, flings down his brush and says the three quoted exclamations exactly as given. gutenberg.org
16
least carenouncolloquial
The smallest measure of concern or interest, used in negative phrases to mean none at all.
Frankly, I don't give a hang whether they approve or not.
He never cared a hang for fashion or what others wore.
UsageMostly in negatives: don't give a hang, don't care a hang.
Similarhoot, fig, damn, jot, whit
Note
A different word from the verb. Hang here is an alteration of dang, itself a minced form of damn, so it is a softened curse and no relative of the "hang the expense" oath.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The concern noun is an alteration of dang, itself a softened form of damn, and has a separate etymology from the verb and its oath use. en.wiktionary.org
17
friendnouncolloquialcountable
Someone a person regularly spends casual time with; a companion.
Her new coworker turned out to be a really fun hang, and now they grab lunch together most Fridays.
He is quiet at first, but once you get to know him he is a great hang on a long road trip.
UsageOften a good hang or a fun hang, about a person as well as an event.
Similarcompanion, buddy, pal, friend, mate
Note
Applied to a person, "a good hang" praises easy company rather than talent: Benny Blanco credited "like 75 percent" of his success to being one.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Benny Blanco attributed “like 75 percent” of his success to being a good hang. wral.com
18
pin blameverbfigurativelytransitive
To attach or fix a charge or accusation onto someone so it sticks.
Prosecutors could not hang the fraud on the company's owner.
The police tried to hang the robbery on her brother, but he had a solid alibi.
UsagePattern: hang something on someone, as in hang the robbery on him.
Similarpin, blame, fasten, attach
Note
The American Pulpit, volume 3 (1848), describes "nothing wrong on which to hang a charge." In Faith Sullivan's The Cape Ann (1988), Mama "wouldn't hang a name like Beverly Mary on a pet skunk." Whatever is hung, the point is that it sticks.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Faith Sullivan wrote The Cape Ann. penguinrandomhouse.com
The novel attributes the quoted refusal to Mama. en.wiktionary.org
19
how cloth fallsnouncountable
The manner in which something, especially fabric, falls or drapes.
The tailor checked the hang of the jacket across the shoulders.
These heavy drapes have a beautiful, even hang.
Similardrape, fall, set
20
veerverbtransitive or intransitive
To turn or veer in a particular direction, especially in the informal phrases hang a right and hang a left.
If you reach the bridge, you have gone too far, so hang a right just before the gas station.
The driver hung a sharp left onto a gravel road that was not on any map.
UsageMostly in hang a right or hang a left.
Similarveer, bend, curve, turn, swing
Note
Racing gives this sense its sharpest use. A horse that hangs drifts off a straight line, and a phrase naming the direction often follows: "the jockey claimed that the horse hung towards the outside," in the New South Wales Law Reports of 1979. Used alone, hanging still names the fault; the direction phrase says which way the horse drifted.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
In racing, a horse that hangs veers from a straight line. britishhorseracing.com
The quoted wording occurs in the New South Wales Law Reports of 1979. en.wiktionary.org
A direction phrase is optional. Racing authorities use hang alone to describe a horse veering from a straight course. britishhorseracing.com
Hanging alone conveys a recognized racing problem; the British Horseracing Authority lists horse hanging among matters riders should report. britishhorseracing.com
21
baseball pitchverbslangtransitive
In baseball, to throw an off-speed pitch that fails to break properly, leaving it easy to hit.
He hung a changeup over the plate and gave up a home run.
Relievers who hang breaking balls rarely last long in the majors.
Note
Baseball slang aimed at the pitcher, with the pitch as object. Peter Golenbock's Dynasty (1975) reports that "Spahn hung a curve ball and Howard hit it over the wire fence." The verb pictures a breaking pitch that stays up instead of dropping, so it always implies a mistake, and usually a punished one. Off-speed pitches are the ones usually hung.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Peter Golenbock wrote Dynasty. books.google.com
Dynasty was first published in 1975; 2010 is a reprint year. books.google.com
Dynasty contains the quoted account of Spahn and Howard. en.wiktionary.org
Fastballs can also be hung. mlb.com
22
verbtransitive
In chess, to leave a piece undefended so the opponent can capture it; of a piece, to be left undefended in this way.
She hung her rook with a careless move and resigned soon after.
Beginners often hang pieces by ignoring their opponent's threats.
Oppositedefend, protect
23
nounrare
A quantity of material that hangs down in a mass.
They advanced in a crouch, dropping to their knees every few yards to pass under a hang of rock.
2014, Matthew Jobin, The Nethergrim
24
verbrare
Of a ball, to rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly because of backspin or imperfections in the ground.
25
nounrare
A brief slackening or pause in motion.
26
noundialectal
A sharp or steep downward slope of ground.
27
nouncolloquialIreland
In Irish English, cheap processed ham of the kind used in sandwiches, from an informal way of saying ham.
28
noun
A variant spelling of Hang, the steel percussion instrument played by hand and shaped like a flying saucer.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of hang apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–15, 17–22

From Middle English hangen, hongen, which fused Old English hon (transitive) and hangian (intransitive), from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄han and *hangēn. It was probably also influenced by Old Norse hengja and hanga, all going back to Proto-Germanic *hanhaną and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk- ("to waver, be in suspense").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts

English hang comes through Middle English hangen, also hongen, merging two Old English verbs descended respectively from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄han and *hangēn. en.wiktionary.org
Old English hangian was intransitive, with hōn as its transitive counterpart. en.wiktionary.org
Old Norse hengja and hanga probably also influenced English hang. en.wiktionary.org
The intransitive branch also goes back to *hanhaną, through its derivative *hangāną. en.wiktionary.org
Old Norse hengja likewise goes back to *hanhaną through a causative derivative. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *hanhaną derives from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk-. en.wiktionary.org
The etymological gloss “to waver, be in suspense” is supported. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 16

An alteration of "dang," itself a minced oath of "damn."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

The noun "hang" meaning minimal concern is an alteration of "dang". en.wiktionary.org
"Dang" is a minced oath of "damn". en.wiktionary.org