Hung Hang Hanging Hæŋ Coat Place Heavy Attach

• hang your coat on the hook.
• activists hung a banner from the roof of the building.
• shall i hang your coat up?
• have you hung out the washing?

hang

Verb Forms

1. to attach something, or to be attached, at the top so that the lower part is free or loose
• Hang your coat on the hook.
• Activists hung a banner from the roof of the building.
• Shall I hang your coat up?
• Have you hung out the washing?
• Have you hung the wash?
• There were several expensive suits hanging in the wardrobe.
• Clothes hung from hooks on the walls.
• His school bag was still hanging on the back of the door.
2. when something hangs in a particular way, it falls in that way
• Her hair hung down to her waist.
• He had lost weight and the suit hung loosely on him.
3. to bend or let something bend downwards
• The dog's tongue was hanging out.
• Children hung (= were leaning) over the gate.
• A cigarette hung from her lips.
• She hung her head in shame.

Extra Examples

• Her injured arm hung uselessly at her side.
• Large leaves hung down from the branches of the trees.
• The monkey was hanging by its tail from the beams overhead.
• The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.
4. to kill somebody, usually as a punishment, by tying a rope around their neck and allowing them to drop; to be killed in this way
• He was the last man to be hanged for murder in this country.
• She had committed suicide by hanging herself from a beam.
• At that time you could hang for stealing.
5. to spend time relaxing or enjoying yourself
• ‘What are you all doing?’ ‘Just hanging.’
• Do you wanna come hang with us?
6. to attach something, especially a picture, to a hook (= a curved piece of metal) on a wall; to be attached in this way
• We hung her portrait above the fireplace.
• Several of his paintings hang in the Tate Gallery.
7. to decorate a place by placing paintings, etc. on a wall
• The rooms were hung with tapestries.
8. to stick wallpaper to a wall
9. to attach a door or gate to a post so that it moves freely
10. to stay in the air
• Smoke hung in the air above the city.

Extra Examples

• Heavy grey clouds were hanging low in the sky.
• The smell of burning plastic hung in the air.
• The question seemed to hang in the space between them.
11. used to say that you are not going to worry about something
• Oh, let's get two and hang the expense!
12. to be in great danger
13. to delay or be delayed in taking action
• The project had hung fire for several years for lack of funds.
14. to live in a particular place
• These multimillion-dollar homes are more than just a place to hang your hat.
15. to depend or rely on something
• The research is interesting, but you cannot hang your hat on it.
16. to be very easy to notice in a particular place in a way that is unpleasant
• Smoke lay heavy on the far side of the water.
• Despair hangs heavy in the stifling air.
17. to cause somebody/something to feel uncomfortable or anxious
• The crime lay heavy on her conscience.
18. to remain determined to succeed even when a situation is difficult
19. to take a left/right turn
20. to remain calm; to not worry
• It's OK—hang loose and stay cool.
21. to hold somebody/something very tightly or keep something in a very determined way because you are afraid
• You get a job, then you get a mortgage and then you hang on like grim death to your job to pay off the mortgage.
22. to listen with great attention to somebody you admire
• The journalists hung on his every word as he spoke of his ordeal.
23. to put somebody in a difficult situation
• She is being hung out to dry for one silly mistake.
24. to be determined and refuse to change your attitude or ideas
25. if the future of something/somebody, or the result of something is/hangs in the balance, it is not certain
• The long-term future of the space programme hangs in the balance.
• Tom’s life hung in the balance for two weeks as he lay in a coma.
26. to express your feelings freely
27. if you are going to be punished for doing something wrong, whether it is a big or small thing, you may as well do the big thing
28. something that gives you an excuse or opportunity to discuss or explain something
• The character provides a peg to hang the writer’s political ideas on.

Word Origin

• Old English hangian (intransitive verb), of West Germanic origin, related to Dutch and German hangen, reinforced by the Old Norse transitive verb hanga.