string along

verb

strung along; stringing along; strings along

transitive verb

1

: to keep waiting

strung him along until the boss was back from lunch

2

: deceive, fool

… stringing us along with ruses and red herrings …

—John Powers

intransitive verb

: go along, agree

held her tongue and strung along with the rest of them

Synonyms of string along

• trick
• fool
• deceive
• suck in

Examples of string along in a Sentence

the student succeeded in stringing even his teachers along with his tales of family hardships

Recent Examples on the Web

Christmas lights glow above, strung along the streetlamps, incongruous against the heavy security presence that dominates the scene. —Keir Simmons, NBC news, 19 Dec. 2025

Boutiques and restaurants are strung along nearby side streets. —Michael Kaminer, Travel + Leisure, 13 Dec. 2025

Natomas Park Where: Java Court and Rockmount Circle in Sacramento When: Sunset to midnight nightly Houses in the community are showing off their holiday cheer with decorations and lights strung along sidewalks. —Sacbee.com, 4 Dec. 2025

It is attractively designed and features nylon strings along with an impressive action that is both responsive and easily playable. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for string along

• evensong
• livelong
• overlong
• vietcong
• agung
• belong
• birdsong
• furlong
• headlong
• headstrong
• lifelong
• plainsong

Kids Definition

string along

verb

1

: to go along : agree

string along with the majority

2

: deceive sense 1, fool

would string us along with false promises