dangle

1 of 3

verb

dan·​gle ˈdaŋ-gəl 

dangled; dangling ˈdaŋ-g(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

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

ˈdaŋ-g(ə-)lər 

noun

dangle

2 of 3

noun (1)

1

: the action of dangling

2

: something that dangles

dangler

3 of 3

noun (2)

dan·​gler ˈdaŋ-g(ə-)lər 

plural -s

: one that dangles

ear clips, some with diamond danglers

—New Yorker

especially : a person who dangles about or after a woman

Synonyms of dangle

Verb

• hang
• swing

Examples of dangle in a Sentence

Verb

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 on the Web

Verb

In the image, a man is climbing up a ladder while holding on to a pair of shoes that are dangling above him and hanging from a tree, while another man is looking up. — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026

For the ladies, Ron's crew provides cherries that are dangled over their faces. — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Noun

Victoria Beckam’s Portofino ‘97 scent comes in a turquoise flask that can fit in your palm and dangle at your breastplate. — Chloe Schama, Vogue, 1 Sep. 2026

Her chest is bare under the jacket and a cigarette dangles from her lip. — Lisa Whittington-Hill, Longreads, 27 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish dangle to dangle

First Known Use

Verb

1565, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (1)

1756, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for dangle

• angle
• bangle
• jangle
• mangle
• strangle
• tangle
• wrangle
• disentangle
• entangle
• quadrangle
• triangle
• untangle

Kids Definition

dangle

verb

dan·​gle

ˈdaŋ-gəl

dangled; dangling

-g(ə-)liŋ

1

: to hang loosely especially with a swinging motion

2

: to be left without proper grammatical connection in a sentence

a dangling participle

3

: to cause to dangle : swing

dangler

-g(ə-)lər

noun