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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
From that point the Porcupine flows about 430 miles to join the Yukon… The compass always hung around my neck, beneath binoculars, and a 35-mm camera. Alann B. Steen, Outdoor Life, 21 May 2025 Colin hangs around at a village pub on Christmas Eve after performing in a barbershop quartet with his dad, Pete (Douglas Hodge). David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 May 2025 This was just four queens hanging around onstage with mediocre lyrics. Barry Levitt, Vulture, 12 May 2025 The pond’s seepage was a source of cholera outbreaks, and a certain unidentifiable gloom still hangs around the park that is on the site now. Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 5 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for hang around

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of hang around was in 1823

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hang around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hang%20around. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

hang around

verb
informal
: to pass time or stay idly in or at
hung around the house all day
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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