v.
(past and past part. hung except in sense 2)
- suspend or be suspended from above with the lower part not attached.
▸attach or be attached so as to allow free movement about the point of attachment.
▸attach (meat or game) to a hook and leave it until dry, tender, or high.
▸(of fabric or a garment) fall or drape in a specified way.
▸paste (wallpaper) to a wall.
▸
(be hung with)
be decorated with (pictures or other decorations).
(past and past part. hanged)
kill by tying a rope attached from above around the neck and removing the support from beneath the feet (used as a form of capital punishment). ▸be killed by hanging.
- remain static in the air.
▸be present or imminent, especially oppressively:
a sense of dread hung over him.
- Computing come unexpectedly to a state in which no further operations can be carried out.
- Baseball deliver (a pitch) which does not change direction and is easily hit by a batter.
- N. Amer. informal way of saying hang around (in sense 2) or hang out.
n.
a downward droop or bend.
▸the way in which something hangs or is hung.
exclam.
dated used in expressions as a mild oath:
well, hang it all!
Phrase
- get the hang of
informal learn how to operate or do. - hang fire
delay or be delayed in taking action. - hang a left
(or right)
N. Amer. informal make a left (or right) turn. - hang someone out to dry
informal leave someone in a difficult or vulnerable situation. - hang ten
ride a surfboard with all ten toes curled over the board's front edge. - hang tough
N. Amer. informal be or remain inflexible or firmly resolved. - let it all hang out
informal be very relaxed or uninhibited. - not care
(or give)
a hang
informal not care at all.
Phrase verbal
Usage
Hang has two past tense and past participle forms: hanged and hung. Use hung in most general uses, e.g. he hung the picture on the wall, but use hanged to refer to execution by hanging: the prisoner was hanged.
Etymology
OE hangian (v.), of W. Gmc origin, reinforced by the ON verb hanga.