hang around

verb

hung around; hanging around; hangs around

1

intransitive, informal

a

: to pass time idly or in relaxing or socializing

spent the day just hanging around with her friends

b

: to stay in or at a place for a period of time

had to hang around for over an hour, waiting for the bus

She didn't feel like hanging around at the club afterward …

—David Calder

2

transitive informal : to pass time or stay in or at (a place) or in the company of (someone)

hung around the house all day

My mother doesn't want me hanging around the park alone.

—Judy Blume

When he was 10 years old, Lester taught him-self to windsurf by hanging around the Europeans and Canadian tourists who rented boards on the beach at Varadero.

—Sam Moses

Synonyms

• abide
• dwell
• remain
• stay
• stick around
• tarry

Examples of hang around in a Sentence

if you hang around until my husband gets home, you can meet him

Recent Examples on the Web

This memory’s been hanging around Alden's psyche for a long, long time. —Sara Netzley, EW.com, 29 Oct. 2024

This collapsible chair is perfect for the beach, the campsite, and even just hanging around in your backyard. —Jamie Spain, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2024

New Orleans is hanging around thanks to its defense, which has held the Chiefs to only one touchdown in five red zone trips. —Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 8 Oct. 2024

Meanwhile, the Johns brothers went back to the drawing board strategy-wise, hung around at events, and outright won the most recent PPA slam, giving them enough points to rocket them back to the #1 seed on tour in Virginia Beach. —Todd Boss, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

hang around

verb

informal

: to pass time or stay idly in or at

hung around the house all day