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

This all explains how Borden is both executed for Angier's death and able to kill him after his hanging in the movie's final minutes. —Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026

For every snapshot of Americans at leisure — riding snowmobiles, hanging in barbershops, attending local football matches — there are multiple scenes of conflict and ire, sometimes in unexpected formations. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Apr. 2026

The Earth is so bright out there and the moon is just hanging in front of us, this black orb out in front of us. —William Harwood, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026

While Swalwell’s political future hangs in the balance, political insiders are closely watching who will be the beneficiary of the chaos. —Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 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.