hang

verb

1. 1

   To be or remain suspended.

   The lights hung from the ceiling.

   On the dark-green walls hung a series of eight engravings, portraits of early Victorian belles, clad in lace and tarletan ball dresses, clipped from an old Book of Beauty. Mrs. Bunting was very fond of these pictures; she thought they gave the drawing-room a note of elegance and refinement.

2. 2

   To float, as if suspended.

   The smoke hung in the room.

   It was a couple of days after the crash, with the smell of burning still hanging in the air from the incinerated wreckage of Coach H, where 31 passengers lost their lives, when I visited the West London site.

3. 3

   To veer in one direction.

   The jockey claimed that the horse hung towards the outside[…]

4. 4

   To rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on the ball or imperfections of the ground.

5. 5

   To hold or bear in a suspended or inclined manner or position instead of erect.

   He hung his head in shame.

6. 6

   To cause (something) to be suspended, as from a hook, hanger, hinges, or the like.

   Hang those lights from the ceiling.

   to hang a door

   It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

7. 7

   To kill (someone) by suspension from the neck, usually as a form of execution or suicide.

   The culprits were hanged from the nearest tree.

   '[…] There's every Staffordshire crime-piece ever made in this cabinet, and that's unique. The Van Hoyer Museum in New York hasn't that very rare second version of Maria Marten's Red Barn over there, nor the little Frederick George Manning—he was the criminal Dickens saw hanged on the roof of the gaol in Horsemonger Lane, by the way—'

   As things go from bad to worse for Putin in his maniacal, murderous attack on Ukraine, he could end up like Milosevic, or worse. The court could change its rules and hang him, the way the Allies hanged Nazi war criminals at the end of World War II.

8. 8

   To be executed by suspension by one's neck from a gallows, a tree, or other raised bar, attached by a rope tied into a noose.

   You will hang for this, my friend.

9. 9

   informal(used in maledictions) To damn.

   Helena That depends on how much of the factory you show me. Domin Oh, hang the factory. Oh, no, no, you shall see everything, Miss Glory. Indeed you shall. Won't you sit down?

   [H]e suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said "Bother!" and "Oh blow!" and also "Hang spring-cleaning!" and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.

10. 10

    informalTo loiter; to hang around; to spend time idly.

    I didn't see anything, officer. I was just hanging.

    He banned spearfishing wherever he could, started the first eco-moorings in the Caribbean, stopped others from coral- and shell-collecting, and had so much fun 24/7 that some unusually powerful people began to hang with him.

11. 11

    To exhibit (an object) by hanging.

12. 12

    To apply (wallpaper or drywall to a wall).

    Let's hang this cute animal design in the nursery.

13. 13

    To decorate (something) with hanging objects.

    Let's hang the nursery with some new wallpaper.

14. 14

    figurativeTo remain persistently in one's thoughts.

    Exploring, I found another short gallery running transversely to the first. This appeared to be devoted to minerals, and the sight of a block of sulphur set my mind running on gunpowder. But I could find no saltpetre; indeed, no nitrates of any kind. Doubtless they had deliquesced ages ago. Yet the sulphur hung in my mind, and set up a train of thinking.

15. 15

    To prevent from reaching a decision, especially by refusing to join in a verdict that must be unanimous.

    One obstinate juror can hang a jury.

16. 16

    To stop responding to manual input devices such as the keyboard and mouse.

    The computer has hung again. Not even pressing <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Del> works.

    When I push this button the program hangs.

17. 17

    To cause (a program or computer) to stop responding.

    The program has a bug that can hang the system.

18. 18

    To cause (a piece) to become vulnerable to capture.

    If you move there, you'll hang your rook.

19. 19

    To be vulnerable to capture.

    In this standard opening position White has to be careful because the pawn on e4 hangs.

20. 20

    slangTo throw a hittable off-speed pitch.

    McDougald then singled, and with a 3-2 count on Ellie Howard who was playing first base, Spahn hung a curve ball and Howard hit it over the wire fence in left field for a 4-4 tie.

21. 21

    figurativeTo attach or cause to stick (a charge or accusation, etc.).

    There were no whisperings, even from his opponents, that he was no better than he ought to be. Because, there was nothing wrong on which to hang a charge. As an eloquent orator, he carried with him the firm support of a good name.

    Papa had wanted to call me Beverly Mary; Mary after the Blessed Virgin. Mama said she wouldn't hang a name like Beverly Mary on a pet skunk.

noun

1. 1

   The way in which something hangs.

   This skirt has a nice hang.

2. 2

   A mass of hanging material.

   They advanced in a crouch, dropping to their knees every few yards to pass under a hang of rock.

   “I don't see the hang of so much talky-talky,” broke in Uncle Sam. “We've heard all that can be said about things, […]

3. 3

   A slackening of motion.

4. 4

   A sharp or steep declivity or slope.

5. 5

   An instance of ceasing to respond to input.

   We sometimes get system hangs.

6. 6

   figurativeA grip, understanding.

   On the fatal evening I duly made my way to the theatre—a little late, so as to take my seat unobserved. After I had got the general hang I glanced up occasionally until I caught Stephanie's eye […]

7. 7

   A hangout.

   My first day was a fun hang, but I didn't really do too much. Me and stupid Bob just hung around the casino looking at box and losing money.

   So how can you set up a hang within a 90-minute time-frame for yourself? Be clear with your friends about timing from the get-go, so they, too, can decide if it's worth their time to even meet up.

   He invited us over to his beautiful heritage home in downtown Toronto for a hang.

   Then again, a live stream isn’t supposed to be a tight, scripted lecture. It’s supposed to be a good hang.

8. 8

   A person that someone hangs out with.

   She might announce something to everyone that makes no sense or tells a story that rambles on and on and makes no point. But for some reason nobody seems to mind. We all just like to listen to The Airhead. She's a fun hang.

   "I couldn't sit down and play a concert for you or really wow you on any instrument," Mr. Blanco said, estimating that "like 75 percent" of his success comes from being a good hang. "What I can do is meet an artist, know what type of song I think we should make and be their therapist, make everyone feel comfortable."

   And maaaaaaaybe Superman would be a good hang, though I suspect that'd be a lot like hanging out with a youth pastor.

noun

1. 1

   informalCheap processed ham (cured pork), often made specially for sandwiches.

noun

1. 1

   Variant of HangAlternative spelling of Hang (“musical instrument”).

noun

1. 1

   The smallest amount of concern or consideration; a damn.

   I don't give a hang.

   They don't seem to care a hang about the consequences.

Forms

plural

hangs

past tense

hung, hanged

past participle

hung, hanged

present participle

hanging

third person singular

hangs