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

Though Joel is hanging in there, that doesn’t mean his Madison Square Garden shows, let alone his touring, let alone any performances whatsoever, are expected to start up any time soon. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026

Just past first quarter, the moon will spend each afternoon hanging in the daytime sky, becoming easier to spot as the sun sinks towards the horizon. — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026

In the past month, the real estate and financial sectors have fallen more than 2%, while utilities are hanging in with a 1% rise and health care has risen 4%. — Darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026

Bass, whose first term works against her as much as for her, is still hanging on and hanging in. — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 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.