dangle

1 of 2

verb

dan·​gle ˈdaŋ-gəl How to pronounce dangle (audio)
dangled; dangling ˈdaŋ-g(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce dangle (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to hang loosely and usually so as to be able to swing freely
2
: to be a hanger-on or a dependent
3
: to occur in a sentence without having a normally expected syntactic relation to the rest of the sentence (such as climbing in "Climbing the mountain the cabin came into view")
a dangling participle
a dangling modifier

transitive verb

1
: to cause to dangle : swing
dangled her feet in the water
2
a
: to keep hanging uncertainly
b
: to hold out as an inducement
dangler noun

dangle

2 of 2

noun

1
: the action of dangling
2
: something that dangles

Examples of dangle in a Sentence

Verb Let your arms dangle at your sides. She sat on the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water. He dangled a piece of string in front of the cat. The money she dangled in front of him wasn't enough to convince him to sell. They refused to accept the money that was dangled before their eyes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Pairing the look with sheer black tights, a simple silver necklace, dangling earrings and pointed high heels, the Vampire Diaries alum kept her makeup look simple and wore her hair in an updo. White, 38, opted for a black suit with a matching black button-down underneath. Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 11 Oct. 2024 Lucky Blue wore a studded leather trench with a dark turtleneck, slacks and loafers underneath, his signature accessory: a dangling lock of hair brushing his forehead. Aamina Inayat Khan, StyleCaster, 10 Oct. 2024
Noun
Oil canisters dangle from the ceiling; they are printed with maps of countries involved, as victim or perpetrator, in the oil-colonialism industrial complex, like Iran and Nigeria. Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 11 Oct. 2024 Some streaming services promise playback boosts in exchange for even smaller royalty rates; some dangle artist-facing features behind expensive subscriptions; and some offer avenues for consideration on official playlists. Charlie Kaplan, Variety, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dangle 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dangle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish dangle to dangle

First Known Use

Verb

1565, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1756, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dangle was in 1565

Dictionary Entries Near dangle

Cite this Entry

“Dangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dangle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

dangle

verb
dan·​gle
ˈdaŋ-gəl
dangled; dangling
-g(ə-)liŋ
1
: to hang loosely especially with a swinging motion
2
: to be left without proper grammatical connection in a sentence
a dangling participle
3
: to cause to dangle : swing
dangler
-g(ə-)lər
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on dangle

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