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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Outside scenes meant hanging around in the tropical sun for hours, and toward the end of the project a lot of the crew fell ill. Charlie Campbell, TIME, 24 Jan. 2025 Clearly, City, top of the table with games in hand on all their rivals, don’t plan to hang around in this division. Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025 That could mean TikTok hangs around for a bit longer. Taylor Grothe, Parents, 17 Jan. 2025 Despite leading by as many as 23 in the second half, UCLA enable Penn State to hang around and claw its way back to a single-digit deficit, the Lions outscoring UCLA 16-12 early in the fourth quarter and cutting the lead to seven points. Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for hang around 

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of hang around was in 1823

Dictionary Entries Near hang around

Cite this Entry

“Hang around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hang%20around. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

hang around

verb
informal
: to pass time or stay idly in or at
hung around the house all day
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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