hang out
Britishverb
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to suspend, be suspended, or lean, esp from an opening, as for display or airing
to hang out the washing
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informal (intr) to live at or frequent a place
the police know where the thieves hang out
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informal to frequent the company (of someone)
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slang to relax completely in an unassuming way (esp in the phrase let it all hang out )
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informal (intr) to act or speak freely, in an open, cooperative, or indiscreet manner
noun
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Protrude downward, as in The dog's tongue was hanging out , or The branches hung out over the driveway . [c. 1400]
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Display a flag or sign of some kind, as in They hung out the flag on every holiday . [Mid-1500s]
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Reside, live, as in I've found a place downtown, and I'll be hanging out there beginning next week . [c. 1800]
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Spend one's free time in; also, loiter, pass time idly. For example, They hung out around the pool parlor , or They spent the evening just hanging out . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]
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hang out with . Keep company with, appear in public with, as in She's hanging out with her ex-boyfriend again . [ Slang ; second half of 1900s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with hang out ; let it all hang out .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In prison, he became devoted to working out; after his release, Mr. James hung out his shingle as a personal trainer.
Turtles swim into the mouth of the river, in the Long Beach-Seal Beach area, and then just hang out and eat algae.
From Los Angeles Times
Gray often hung out at the Sergeantsville Inn, because everyone in town did.
“You have two gold medalist teams just hanging out before we’re going back to our respective cities. And it was just great to hear their experience.”
From Los Angeles Times
His face scrunched up tightly and his tongue was hanging out.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
