hung up

1 of 2

adjective

1

: delayed or detained for a time

2

: anxiously nervous

3

: having great or excessive interest in or preoccupation with someone or something

—usually used with on

they broke up but he's still hung up on her

hung up on winning

hung up

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of hang up

Synonyms of hung up

Adjective

• obsessed
• worried

Examples of hung up in a Sentence

Adjective

Many people are hung up about their physical appearance.

parents of a toddler who are already hung up about her getting into a good college

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Ever since Daniel Craig hung up his tux in 2021, there’s been much soul-searching about the continuation of the Bond franchise. — Radhika Seth, Vogue, 11 Nov. 2026

Another person calling from PoorHouse said the whole building was ablaze but hung up upon realizing the police had already arrived. — Zoey Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 10 Nov. 2026

All four astronauts of the Artemis II mission, which flew around the moon in April, have hung up their spacesuits and moved on to greener pastures. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 29 Oct. 2026

At what point do these personas stop getting hung up with the costumes at the end of the night? — Alessandra Schade, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1878, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hung up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

hung up

adjective

1

: delayed or detained for a time

2

: anxiously nervous

3

: much involved or concerned with something or someone

hung up on winning