How to Use hanger-on in a Sentence

hanger-on

noun
  • Part of the answer has to do with Trump’s craven enablers and hangers-on.
    Larry Diamond, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2021
  • And along with the song, the Roy dynasty and its hangers-on keeps bouncing around my skull.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 2 Apr. 2023
  • There's not been anybody — no girls or hangers-on — backstage at my shows since then.
    Marisa Sullivan, Peoplemag, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Every single character in the show — as well as the cast of hangers-on — was filthy, stinking rich.
    Vulture, 30 May 2023
  • Of course, the no-account crew that hangs around him — hangers-on is a better way to describe them — can get in the way of even his best intentions.
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2023
  • Many hangers-on were so hip that the famous artists imitated them, not the other way around.
    Ian Penman, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
  • There was no party in the studio — no flowing libations, no room full of hangers-on.
    Danielle Amir Jackson Malike Sidibe, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
  • To point to the existence of a few fanatic hangers-on is hardly to indict a movement or its methods.
    Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2023
  • Mulligan plays Pamela, a quirky hanger-on of the Catton family.
    Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023
  • Carey Mulligan plays a family friend, or is that hanger-on?
    Lisa Kennedy, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2023
  • So her role at Binance is certainly that of a trusted advisor and behind-the-scenes boss, not as a courtesan hanger-on.
    Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 29 June 2023
  • Hamlet’s toadying friends, the hangers-on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are Izzard’s own talking hands, popping up to face her like a pair of Muppets.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2024
  • Stars can bring one to two guests on the studio dime and a personal publicist, but that number is fungible, and the bigger the actor, the larger the retinue of handlers and hangers-on.
    Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 1 Mar. 2023
  • The pop artist rose to fame by making striking screenprints from others’ photographs, assisted by young artists and hangers-on in a space aptly called the Factory.
    Byirina Ivanova, Fortune, 6 Jan. 2024
  • Beasley offered one last bit of advice for young players entering the league with the demands of their team, family, and potential hangers-on waiting.
    Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
  • Gloria Johnson was a hanger-on during the protest, awkwardly standing beside Jones and Pearson and not wielding the bullhorn herself.
    The Editors, National Review, 10 Apr. 2023
  • In spite of attention from glossies such as Esquire, the area was never overrun by hangers-on—there was always a community but never really a scene.
    Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2023
  • Let the succession battle begin, as the brothers, and various family hangers-on, duke it out for daddy's approval.
    Leena Kim, Town & Country, 25 May 2023
  • Travers imagined that George would face pressure from management and hangers-on to change as an artist for Vegas, increasing his trepidation and resentment.
    Fawnia Soo Hoo, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Aug. 2023
  • In attendance are various well-wishers and hangers-on who notably and understandably do not include the three Roy kids recently frozen out of the Waystar decision-making by the guest of honor.
    Erik Adams, Chron, 22 Mar. 2023
  • At the debate, the familiar trappings were present — red, white and blue bunting, lights, cameras, hordes of press, hangers-on and opposition spokespeople, including Gov. Gavin Newsom — but the tension of a nomination up for grabs was notably absent.
    David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2023
  • With his niche celebrity burgeoning within the tech scene, Lee was never short of business suitors, hangers-on seeking success by association, and new acquaintances eager to exchange phone numbers and LinkedIn connections.
    Albert Samaha, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2023
  • Backstage hangers-on lusting after her billionaire husband?
    Lindsay Zoladz, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
  • Even the ensemble’s array of desperate journalists, paparazzi and showbiz hangers-on avoids being irritating.
    Zachary Pincus-Roth, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024

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

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