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

The goal was to make the playoffs, or (more reasonably) to at least hang around the race long enough to play meaningful hockey into the final months. —Sean McIndoe, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024

While it's not expected to snow on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, the white stuff from Monday could hang around to give the holiday a festive look. —Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press, 24 Dec. 2024

As the Bulldogs hung around in the final two and a half minutes, Karaban nailed a 3-pointer, Diarra flipped a floater over his head to beat the shot clock and Karaban hit again from beyond the arc, pushing UConn’s lead to five with 59 seconds to go. —Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 21 Dec. 2024

Some people don’t like eye contact but will hang around and keep talking to you, some people hate being casually touched while others are super into it. —Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 16 Dec. 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