hang around

verb

hung around; hanging around; hangs around

1

intransitive, informal

a

: to pass time idly or in relaxing or socializing

spent the day just hanging around with her friends

b

: to stay in or at a place for a period of time

had to hang around for over an hour, waiting for the bus

She didn't feel like hanging around at the club afterward …

—David Calder

2

transitive informal : to pass time or stay in or at (a place) or in the company of (someone)

hung around the house all day

My mother doesn't want me hanging around the park alone.

—Judy Blume

When he was 10 years old, Lester taught him-self to windsurf by hanging around the Europeans and Canadian tourists who rented boards on the beach at Varadero.

—Sam Moses

Synonyms

• abide
• dwell
• remain
• stay
• stick around
• tarry

Examples of hang around in a Sentence

if you hang around until my husband gets home, you can meet him

Recent Examples on the Web

Will Clark, Jake Peavy and Dusty Baker hung around the dugout before the game, beaming smiles (even Clark). —Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024

Probe Channel Cover for Post-Spawn Crappie With the lake topping 80 degrees, crappie will most often be hanging around deep creek and river channels. —Don Wirth, Field & Stream, 4 Apr. 2024

Miami hung around, closing to within 97-93 with 1:13 left, after back to back jumpers by Terry Rozier. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024

But a few people always hang around, playing Sheepshead, chatting and then settling in for Easter dinner. —Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024

Photograph: Tom Cockram Khan hangs around for an hour, swapping affable banalities with traders and colleagues—on vegan food, vinyl records, dogs—and recording a video to announce a new policy on small business funding. —Peter Guest, WIRED, 26 Mar. 2024

Few record stores manage to hang around for more than 50 years, fewer still in the same location. —Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 14 Mar. 2024

The year may be new, but the old ESG debate is still hanging around. —Margret Trilli, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2024

Those things include stocking up on sweets from the freezer, casually hanging around with members of the community who have become friends. —Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

hang around

verb

: to pass time or stay idly in or at

hung around the house all day