hang in

verb

hung in; hanging in; hangs in

intransitive verb

informal : to refuse to be discouraged or intimidated : to keep going, trying, or working in a difficult situation

… did not hang in long enough to win even a battle.

—Marvin E. Frankel

Hoping to hang in until some series he works on runs five years and makes him $50 million in syndication …

—Chris Chase

—often used in the phrase hang in there

If there was ever a mismatched couple it was this one, but the children begged them to hang in there.

—Joseph Wambaugh

If she hung in there long enough, he would change. It just took a lot of patience with a little reasoning.

—Gloria Naylor

Examples of hang in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s a lot going on in Ransom Canyon, and the second season finale answers some burning questions while leaving some more hanging in the air for a possible third season. — Barry Levitt, Time, 23 July 2026

The movie pits the two monsters — the giant dinosaur-like being Godzilla and gigantic ape King Kong — against each other as the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. — Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 21 July 2026

Each video posted by ADOR today is accompanied by an instrumental and footage of the members engaged in various activities, among them roller skating, hanging in the park, sewing, and standing together looking shy. — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 21 July 2026

If paranoia is on the breeze, so too is a sense of post-teenage stasis that seems to hang in the Chinatown air, caught between youth and adulthood, an immigrant past and a gentrified future. — Dylan Adamson, IndieWire, 21 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hang in

verb

informal

: to refuse to be discouraged or frightened

Hang in there, kid! Don't quit.