hang on

verb

hung on; hanging on; hangs on

intransitive verb

1

: to keep hold : hold on to something

2

: to persist tenaciously

a cold that hung on all spring

3

: hold on sense 2

I'll get the answer if you can hang on.

see also:

hang on to

Examples of hang on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Slide nine was an image of Hadid working on a colorful mood board while sitting on the floor, followed by a picture of a picture hanging on the wall. —Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 9 June 2026

But the exhibition and the scholarship, though occasionally a bit fawning, show why the value of Lewis’s art doesn’t hang on these distinctions. —Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 8 June 2026

The New York Knicks are flying all over the place but the San Antonio Spurs are hanging on. —Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 8 June 2026

At the last stop on the tour, Sacramento County’s Bradshaw Animal Shelter, a poster for the cat tour featuring some of the shelter’s longest feline residents hung on the wall outside the door. —Hannah Ruhoff june 8, Sacbee.com, 8 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1719, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hang on

• anton
• argon
• axon
• baronne
• baryon
• baton
• boron
• buisson
• bygone
• capon
• cardon
• chiffon

Kids Definition

hang on

verb

1

: to keep hold or possession especially tightly

hang on or you'll fall

hang on to your money

2

: to continue stubbornly

a cold that hung on all spring