# hang up

Pronunciation: US/UK say "hang-UP" /ˌhæŋ ˈʌp/; AUS

## Phrasal verb

1. To end a telephone call; originally, to do it by setting the receiver back on its hook or cradle, which disconnected the line.
   - Simple: To end a phone call. On old phones, you did it by putting the phone back on its hook.
   - _He was so angry that he hung up on me in the middle of a sentence._
   - _Please stay on the line and don't hang up until an agent answers._
2. To put something in a place where it can hang, such as on a hook, hanger, or line.
   - Simple: To put something up so that it hangs, for example on a hook or a line.
   - _After the move, it took us weeks to hang up all the pictures._
   - _Volunteers hung up lights and banners along Main Street before the parade._
4. To keep someone or something delayed, held up, or stuck, so that matters are left on hold.
   - Simple: To keep someone or something stuck or delayed.
   - _A dispute over funding has hung up the bill in committee since spring._
   - _One missing customs form can hang up a whole shipment at the port._
5. To quit or give up an activity, stopping it or abandoning it altogether.
   - Simple: To stop doing something and give it up.
   - _After three knee surgeries, the shortstop decided it was time to hang up his cleats._
   - _After one more losing season, the coach said he was ready to hang it up._
7. To distress someone, or to put them at a disadvantage or do them harm.
   - Simple: To upset someone, or to cause them trouble or harm.
   - _The breakup hung him up for months, and he barely left the apartment._
   - _Her lack of experience hung her up in the final round of interviews._
8. To take someone into custody or have them locked up in prison.
   - Simple: To arrest someone or put them in prison.
   - _The cops hung up half the crowd for disorderly conduct before midnight._
   - _The judge hung up the forger for five years, the longest sentence the law allowed._

## Noun · hang-up

Pronunciation: say "HANG-up" /ˈhæŋ ʌp/

3. An emotional difficulty or psychological inhibition, often about one particular subject. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A worry or feeling of shame about something that stops you from feeling relaxed.
   - _Years of teasing at school left her with a hang-up about her height._
   - _The comedian jokes openly about his hang-ups over money and success._
6. An unforeseen problem that holds up progress or causes a delay.
   - Simple: A problem you did not expect that slows things down.
   - _A last-minute hang-up with the permits pushed the restaurant's opening back a week._
   - _Despite a few technical hang-ups, the launch went ahead on schedule._

## Origin

From the verb hang up.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hang-up (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).