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 of hang around

• remain
• stay
• wait
• stick around

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

Golden State was able to hang around and only trailed 46-40 at the break as the teams combined to shoot 15-for-31 (48%) from behind the arc. — Doug Feinberg, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

In that out-of-use cooler, two living roaches rather ghoulishly hung around the 17 roach corpses. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026

As the daughter of two classical singers, she was used to hanging around backstage and going along with the rhythm of theatrical days. — Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026

Davis had hung around the basketball team, which included moments in the locker room with Miles. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

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