straphanger

noun

strap·​hang·​er ˈstrap-ˌhaŋ-ər 

: a standing passenger in a subway, streetcar, bus, or train who clings for support to one of the short straps or similar devices placed along the aisle

straphang

ˈstrap-ˌhaŋ 

intransitive verb

Examples of straphanger in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For the third time in as many years, straphangers in North Brooklyn are faced with a vexing, if familiar, question — is the G train running? — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 19 July 2026

His trilogy is, likewise, a straphangers’ gallery of metropolitan oddballs, from Zippo, a pyromaniac turned blaxploitation filmmaker, to Uncle Rich, a master criminal who stages a daring raid on the Waldorf-Astoria from a disused train tunnel with the help of a homeless army. — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 22 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above