HANG

v. 1 suspend, depend, dangle; be poised or suspended, hover, swing Hang the lantern from this branch The laundry was hanging on the line. 2 gibbet, send to the gallows, lynch, execute, kill, Colloq string up, stretch They hanged two murderers this morning 3 drape, fall The skirt isn't hanging straight 4 hang about or around. a loiter, wait, linger, dally, idle, tarry , Colloq hang out He hangs about after school every day, waiting for Susan b Also, hang about or around (with). frequent, haunt, visit, spend time at; associate with, socialize with, hobnob with, rub elbows with, consort with, fraternize with, mix or mingle with, Colloq hang out (with) He hangs about the Golden Crown I saw him hanging around with some pretty unsavoury characters. 5 hang back (from). be reluctant, recoil (from), shrink (from), hesitate, falter, stay away (from) Move to the front of the queue and don't hang back 6 hang fire. be delayed, remain unsettled or unfinished, be in suspense or abeyance; stall, hold up, delay The decision will hang fire till after the election 7 hang on. a Also, hang on to. hold on (to), cling (to), clutch, grip, grasp, grab Hang on to me when we're crossing the street b wait, stay, stop Hang on a minute - what did you call me? c wait, persist, remain, carry on, persevere, go on, hold out, endure, hold the phone, Colloq US hang in there Hang on a minute, I have to put down the phone to get a pencil d Also, hang on to or upon. listen carefully or attentively, give one's undivided attention, be rapt She hung on every word the guru uttered e depend or rely (on), be dependent or contingent (on), be subject (to), be conditioned or conditional (on) The entire project now hangs on their approval of the budget 8 hang one's head. be ashamed or humiliated or abashed or humbled or embarrassed She hung her head as the store detective confronted her with the stolen goods 9 hang out. See 5 (a), above. 10 hang over. be put off or postponed or delayed We must first deal with matters hanging over from our last meeting 11 hang together. a unite, be united, be as one, stick together, join forces, cooperate, act in concert or harmony We must hang together or we shall hang separately b make sense, be logical, be consistent, correspond, match (up), cohere, be coherent The statements issued yesterday and today just don't hang together 12 hang up. break the connection, disconnect, cut off, put down the receiver Whenever a salesman phones, I simply hang up