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
Examples of straphanger in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Julian Roberts-Grmela,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2026
Whether this was a genuinely threatening gesture or the sort of panhandling that straphangers (as they were still called) had learned to evade or ignore is disputed.
—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
However, that didn't ease the nerves of many straphangers.
—
Jesse Zanger,
CBS News,
10 Dec. 2025
Two other straphangers helped restrain him, and video that captured part of the encounter shows Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator, slowly go limp then die.
—
Fox News Staff,
Fox News,
5 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for straphanger
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Noun
The April shooting caused a mass panic on the subway car with straphangers stampeding toward the exits as the train entered the station.
—
Julian Roberts-Grmela,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2026
Whether this was a genuinely threatening gesture or the sort of panhandling that straphangers (as they were still called) had learned to evade or ignore is disputed.
—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
However, that didn't ease the nerves of many straphangers.
—
Jesse Zanger,
CBS News,
10 Dec. 2025
Two other straphangers helped restrain him, and video that captured part of the encounter shows Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator, slowly go limp then die.
—
Fox News Staff,
Fox News,
5 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for straphanger
Cite this Entry
“Straphanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/straphanger. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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