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

Clouds will hang around most of the evening, and the low will be around 57 along with calm overnight winds. —Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2025

Then more came Then a few just hung around for a chat at my seat. —Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 18 Apr. 2025

Seeing them in that painting and then recognizing them hung around the room radiates joy to visitors of all ages. —Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Technically, the Giants hung around the wild-card race for most of the summer, but there’s no way a franchise can recover from that kind of cosmic pantsing. —Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for hang around

• aboveground
• battleground
• belowground
• paperbound
• turnaround
• ultrasound
• underground
• wraparound
• abound
• aground
• astound
• background

Kids Definition

hang around

verb

informal

: to pass time or stay idly in or at

hung around the house all day