dangle

verb dan·gle \ ˈdaŋ-gəl \

Updated on: 24 Apr 2018

Definition of dangle

dangled; dangling play \-g(ə-)liŋ\

1 : to hang loosely and usually so as to be able to swing freely

2 : to be a hanger-on or a dependent

3 : to occur in a sentence without having a normally expected syntactic relation to the rest of the sentence (such as climbing in "Climbing the mountain the cabin came into view")

a dangling participle

a dangling modifier

transitive verb

1 : to cause to dangle : swing

dangled her feet in the water

2 a : to keep hanging uncertainly

b : to hold out as an inducement

—

dangler

play \-g(ə-)lər\ noun

See dangle defined for English-language learners

See dangle defined for kids

Examples of dangle in a Sentence

Let your arms dangle at your sides.
She sat on the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water.
He dangled a piece of string in front of the cat.
The money she dangled in front of him wasn't enough to convince him to sell.
They refused to accept the money that was dangled before their eyes.

Recent Examples of dangle from the Web

Heavy iron chains of various girths dangle from hooks embedded in a concrete wall, and there are enough kettlebells to send a medium-sized rowboat to the bottom of the ocean.

— jay willis, GQ, "I Worked Out with Steve Aoki and He Busted My Ass," 10 Apr. 2018
The Rams dangled cornerback Trumaine Johnson to the Saints as trade bait for Cooks, but the Patriots offered the Saints a first-round pick in the 2018 draft.

— tribune news service, NOLA.com, "Brandin Cooks, now with Rams, has a lot of experience playing with elite QBs," 7 Apr. 2018
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are studying whether one of Kushner’s daughters dangled White House influence before prospective Chinese investors.

— sharon lafraniere, BostonGlobe.com, "For Kushners, redemption in the White House was mirage," 1 Apr. 2018
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are studying whether one of Mr. Kushner’s daughters dangled White House influence before prospective Chinese investors.

— sharon lafraniere and katie benner, New York Times, "The Kushners Saw Redemption in the White House. It Was a Mirage.," 1 Apr. 2018
This entire season dangled William’s promise to us on a string, teasing out his potential mutant-like abilities.

— yohana desta, HWD, "The X-Files Finale: Is This How Dana Scully’s Journey Really Ends?," 21 Mar. 2018
The North Koreans dangled the possibility of meeting with Vice President Pence on the sidelines of the Olympics, but the North walked away at the last minute, the vice president's chief of staff Nick Ayers revealed Wednesday.

— aamer madhani, USA TODAY, "Was hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics worth the trouble for South Korea?," 21 Feb. 2018
The tubing dangled from the dimpled IV bag, the clear liquid traveling through its hollow center.

— s. kirk walsh, Longreads, "From One Friendship, Lessons on Life, Death, AIDS and Childlessness," 22 Jan. 2018
As the adult bats sought shade near a creek, babies were left dangling from trees with no means to survive the heat, according to a charity organization in the Sydney suburb of Campbelltown, home to colonies of flying foxes.

— amanda erickson, Washington Post, "It’s so hot in Australia that bats’ brains are frying," 9 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dangle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.