hang in

verb

hung in; hanging in; hangs in

intransitive verb

informal : to refuse to be discouraged or intimidated : to keep going, trying, or working in a difficult situation

… did not hang in long enough to win even a battle.

—Marvin E. Frankel

Hoping to hang in until some series he works on runs five years and makes him $50 million in syndication …

—Chris Chase

—often used in the phrase hang in there

If there was ever a mismatched couple it was this one, but the children begged them to hang in there.

—Joseph Wambaugh

If she hung in there long enough, he would change. It just took a lot of patience with a little reasoning.

—Gloria Naylor

Examples of hang in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump disliked a portrait of himself hanging in the Colorado State Capitol. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 8 Apr. 2025

Until then, the TikTok ban and its future in the U.S., hangs in the balance. —Esat Dedezade, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025

The fate of the app once again hung in the balance Friday in a déjà vu moment for fans of the social media platform. —Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025

When the toddler woke up in his grandparents’ room on Wednesday, the smell of smoke hung in the air. —Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hang in

verb

informal

: to refuse to be discouraged or frightened

Hang in there, kid! Don't quit.