hang

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To be or remain suspended.
2. (intransitive) To float, as if suspended.
3. (intransitive) To veer in one direction.
4. (intransitive, usually) To rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on the ball or imperfections of the ground.
5. (transitive) To hold or bear in a suspended or inclined manner or position instead of erect.
6. (transitive) To cause (something) to be suspended, as from a hook, hanger, hinges, or the like.
7. (transitive) To kill (someone) by suspension from the neck, usually as a form of execution or suicide.
8. (intransitive) 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.
9. (informal, transitive) (used in maledictions) To damn.
10. (informal, intransitive) To loiter; to hang around; to spend time idly.
11. (transitive) To exhibit (an object) by hanging.
12. (transitive) To apply (wallpaper or drywall to a wall).
13. (transitive) To decorate (something) with hanging objects.
14. (figuratively, intransitive) To remain persistently in one's thoughts.
15. (transitive) To prevent from reaching a decision, especially by refusing to join in a verdict that must be unanimous.
16. (intransitive) To stop responding to manual input devices such as the keyboard and mouse.
17. (transitive) To cause (a program or computer) to stop responding.
18. (transitive) To cause (a piece) to become vulnerable to capture.
19. (intransitive) To be vulnerable to capture.
20. (slang, transitive) To throw a hittable off-speed pitch.
21. (figuratively, transitive) To attach or cause to stick (a charge or accusation, etc.).

Noun

1. The way in which something hangs.
2. A mass of hanging material.
3. A slackening of motion.
4. A sharp or steep declivity or slope.
5. An instance of ceasing to respond to input.
6. (figuratively, informal) A grip, understanding.
7. (colloquial) A hangout.
8. (colloquial) A person that someone hangs out with.

Noun

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

Noun

Alternative spelling of Hang (“musical instrument”).

Noun

The smallest amount of concern or consideration; a damn.

Synonyms

suspend

dangle

hang up

suspended

hook

🪝

droop

hang down

sag

swing

put up

lower

string up

be hanging

be suspended

attach

cling

hanging

fasten

knack

attend

pay heed

loll

drape

execute by hanging

hoist

pull down

kill by hanging

give ear

tie

advert

bent

decorate

sway

flow

fall

hook on

strangle

set

secure

settle

sling

place

hung

hover

pend

stoop

hitch on

hang out

bow

🙇

hang over

Translations

colgar

hängen

pendre

suspendre

appendere

accrocher

🪝

hangen

aufhängen

pendere

pendurar

penjar

ophangen

ahorcar

sospendere

impiccare

Pronounced as (IPA)

/hæŋ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: hangen

Inherited from Old English: hōn

Cognate with Old Norse: hengja

Cognate with Dutch: hangen

Cognate with Low German: hangen

Cognate with German: hängen

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: henge

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk: henga

Cognate with Gothic: 𐌷𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽

Cognate with Hittite: 𒂵𒀀𒀭𒂵

Cognate with Sanskrit: शङ्कते

Cognate with Latin: cunctor

In summary

From Middle English hangen, hongen, from a fusion of Old English hōn (“to hang, be hanging”, transitive verb) and hangian (“to hang, cause to hang”, intransitive verb), from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄han and *hangēn; also probably influenced by Old Norse hengja (“to suspend”) and hanga (“to be suspended”); all from Proto-Germanic *hanhaną, *hangāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk- (“to waver, be in suspense”).
See also Dutch hangen, Low German hangen and hängen, German hängen, Norwegian Bokmål henge, Norwegian Nynorsk henga; also Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (hāhan), Hittite 𒂵𒀀𒀭𒂵 (/⁠kānk-⁠/, “to hang”), Sanskrit शङ्कते (śáṅkate, “is in doubt, hesitates”), Latin cūnctārī (“to delay”).

Sentences

These paintings hang today in the Pilgrim Hall Museum .