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Hang   /hæŋ/   Listen
verb
Hang  v. t.  (past & past part. hung; pres. part. hanging)  
1.
To suspend; to fasten to some elevated point without support from below; often used with up or out; as, to hang a coat on a hook; to hang up a sign; to hang out a banner.
2.
To fasten in a manner which will allow of free motion upon the point or points of suspension; said of a pendulum, a swing, a door, gate, etc.
3.
To fit properly, as at a proper angle (a part of an implement that is swung in using), as a scythe to its snath, or an ax to its helve. (U. S.)
4.
To put to death by suspending by the neck; a form of capital punishment; as, to hang a murderer.
5.
To cover, decorate, or furnish by hanging pictures, trophies, drapery, and the like, or by covering with paper hangings; said of a wall, a room, etc. "Hung be the heavens with black." "And hung thy holy roofs with savage spoils."
6.
To paste, as paper hangings, on the walls of a room.
7.
To hold or bear in a suspended or inclined manner or position instead of erect; to droop; as, he hung his head in shame. "Cowslips wan that hang the pensive head."
8.
To prevent from reaching a decision, esp. by refusing to join in a verdict that must be unanimous; as, one obstinate juror can hang a jury.
To hang down, to let fall below the proper position; to bend down; to decline; as, to hang down the head, or, elliptically, to hang the head.
To hang fire (Mil.), to be slow in communicating fire through the vent to the charge; as, the gun hangs fire; hence, to hesitate, to hold back as if in suspense.



Hang  v. i.  (past & past part. hung; pres. part. hanging)  
1.
To be suspended or fastened to some elevated point without support from below; to dangle; to float; to rest; to remain; to stay.
2.
To be fastened in such a manner as to allow of free motion on the point or points of suspension.
3.
To die or be put to death by suspension from the neck. (R.) "Sir Balaam hangs."
4.
To hold for support; to depend; to cling; usually with on or upon; as, this question hangs on a single point. "Two infants hanging on her neck."
5.
To be, or be like, a suspended weight. "Life hangs upon me, and becomes a burden."
6.
To hover; to impend; to appear threateningly; usually with over; as, evils hang over the country.
7.
To lean or incline; to incline downward. "To decide which way hung the victory." "His neck obliquely o'er his shoulder hung."
8.
To slope down; as, hanging grounds.
9.
To be undetermined or uncertain; to be in suspense; to linger; to be delayed. "A noble stroke he lifted high, Which hung not, but so swift with tempest fell On the proud crest of Satan."
10.
(Cricket, Tennis, etc.) Of a ball: To rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on the ball or imperfections of ground.
11.
(Baseball) To fail to curve, break, or drop as intended; said of pitches, such as curve balls or sliders.
12.
(Computers) To cease to operate normally and remain suspended in some state without performing useful work; said of computer programs, computers, or individual processes within a program; as, when using Windows 3.1, my system would hang and need rebooting several times a day. Note: this situation could be caused by bugs within an operating system or within a program, or incompatibility between programs or between programs and the hardware.
To hang around, to loiter idly about.
To hang back, to hesitate; to falter; to be reluctant. "If any one among you hangs back."
To hang by the eyelids.
(a)
To hang by a very slight hold or tenure.
(b)
To be in an unfinished condition; to be left incomplete.
To hang in doubt, to be in suspense.
To hang on (with the emphasis on the preposition), to keep hold; to hold fast; to stick; to be persistent, as a disease.
To hang on the lips To hang on the words, etc., to be charmed by eloquence.
To hang out.
(a)
To be hung out so as to be displayed; to project.
(b)
To be unyielding; as, the juryman hangs out against an agreement; to hold out. (Colloq.)
(c)
to loiter or lounge around a particular place; as, teenageers tend to hang out at the mall these days.
To hang over.
(a)
To project at the top.
(b)
To impend over.
To hang to, to cling.
To hang together.
(a)
To remain united; to stand by one another. "We are all of a piece; we hang together."
(b)
To be self-consistent; as, the story does not hang together. (Colloq.)
To hang upon.
(a)
To regard with passionate affection.
(b)
(Mil.) To hover around; as, to hang upon the flanks of a retreating enemy.



noun
Hang  n.  
1.
The manner in which one part or thing hangs upon, or is connected with, another; as, the hang of a scythe.
2.
Connection; arrangement; plan; as, the hang of a discourse. (Colloq.)
3.
A sharp or steep declivity or slope. (Colloq.)
To get the hang of, to learn the method or arrangement of; hence, to become accustomed to. (Colloq.)






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Hang" Quotes from Famous Books



... the young man, "I've got a father; I kept him alive during the War, so he's bound to keep me alive now. Though, of course, there's the question whether he ought to be allowed to hang on to his property. What do ...
— Forsyte Saga • John Galsworthy

... the church lay open to all comers, without locks and bars, and none to look after them, those specially that lead up to the leads above; two young children not above five years old, had got up the steeple by themselves, and having lost their way down, come to the place where the great bells hang. Here there was a large round space left purposely in the arch, when first built, for the drawing up bells or any other things, as there should be occasion. This place used to be safely closed before, but now it lay wide open, and was between ...
— The New Guide to Peterborough Cathedral • George S. Phillips

... wanderer; the houses were shut up, and their inmates, for the most part, already retired to rest, and the suburbs did not rejoice, as the city, in the round of the watchman with his drowsy call to the inhabitants, "Hang out your lights!" The passengers, who at first, in various small groups and parties, had enlivened the stranger's way, seemed to him, unconscious as he was of the lapse of time, to have suddenly vanished ...
— The Last Of The Barons, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... Chicot, on arriving at the top of a hill, reined in his horse suddenly. But the ass, having once taken it into his head to gallop, was not so easily stopped, and Gorenflot was forced to let himself slide off and hang on to the donkey with all his weight before he ...
— Chicot the Jester - [An abridged translation of "La dame de Monsoreau"] • Alexandre Dumas

... Do you think I have devoted to you my life, my blood, shown myself ready to kill, to assassinate your enemy, in order that I may receive that exorbitant interest called gratitude? Have I become an usurer of this kind? There are some men who would hang the weight of a benefit around your heart like a cannon-ball attached to the feet of——, but let that pass! Such men I would crush as I would a worm, without thinking that I had committed homicide! No! I have asked you to adopt me as your father, that my heart may be to you ...
— Vautrin • Honore de Balzac


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