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
David Calder2
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
Judy BlumeWhen 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
Sam MosesExamples of hang around in a Sentence
if you hang around until my husband gets home, you can meet him
Recent Examples on the Web
He’s had 44-save and 43-stop outings to keep the Kings hanging around despite being severely outplayed.
—Eric Stephens, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Considering that Bernthal keeps his daughter’s headband hanging around his rearview mirror and carries a picture of wife Erin Angle to every gig, his gushing over Affleck seems sincere.
—Erin Jensen, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025
The expectation that tens of thousands of people hanging around an old NASCAR track would be library-quiet for three-plus hours felt slightly deranged to me, but such is the cult of Phish.
—Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Very similar to Houston, Duke dominated the game, but Houston just kept hanging around just enough and capitalized when the others couldn't close.
—Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hang around
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Eric Stephens, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Considering that Bernthal keeps his daughter’s headband hanging around his rearview mirror and carries a picture of wife Erin Angle to every gig, his gushing over Affleck seems sincere.
—Erin Jensen, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025
The expectation that tens of thousands of people hanging around an old NASCAR track would be library-quiet for three-plus hours felt slightly deranged to me, but such is the cult of Phish.
—Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Very similar to Houston, Duke dominated the game, but Houston just kept hanging around just enough and capitalized when the others couldn't close.
—Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hang around
Cite this Entry
“Hang around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hang%20around. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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