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

It is paneled in dark wood, the chairs are heavy leather and the murmur of polite, intelligent conversation hangs in the air. —Benjamin D. Summers, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025

For a night, Detroit’s October chances hung in the balance. —Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025

Purdue continued to find a way to hang in the game, seemingly coming up with timely plays time after time throughout the night. —Noah Gerkey, Oc Register, 14 Sep. 2025

Where your life hangs in the balance at a grocery store, a movie theater, or a political rally? —Brittany Pettersen, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025

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.