hung
1 Americanverb
adjective
idioms
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hung up on,
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obsessed by.
a clerk hung up on petty details.
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infatuated with.
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hung over. hungover.
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hung up,
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detained unavoidably.
They were hung up in bad traffic and missed their flight.
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stymied or baffled by a problem.
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Baseball, Softball. (of a base runner) trapped between bases and in danger of being tagged out.
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abbreviation
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Hungarian. Also Hung
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Hungary.
verb
adjective
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(of a legislative assembly) not having a party with a working majority
a hung parliament
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unable to reach a decision
a hung jury
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(of a situation) unable to be resolved
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informal suffering from the effects of a hangover
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slang
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impeded by some difficulty or delay
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in a state of confusion; emotionally disturbed
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slang obsessively or exclusively interested in
he's hung up on modern art these days
abbreviation
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Hungarian
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Hungary
Usage
See hang.
For most senses of hang the past tense and past participle is hung : I hung the curtains; he had hung the new painting on the wall . However, when the meaning is 'to suspend or be suspended by the neck until dead', the past tense and past participle is hanged : the traitors were hanged; they had hanged him at dawn . This form is also used in the idiom I'll be hanged
Other Word Forms
- unhung adjective
Etymology
Origin of hung
First recorded in 1635–45, for the adjective
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fiercely protective of his private life, he has many of the same friends he hung out with as a child.
From Barron's
The kraken twisted its great head to look: for one beat it hung there in the water, blinking its huge gray eyes.
From Literature
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“Wait, Nick, ...” he started, but I hung up, Kathy’s eyes still on me.
From Los Angeles Times
Large black curtains were hung on either side, one concealing the windows, the other marking off the backstage area.
From Barron's
Hamilton said he had hung around in order to shield some of the younger Black officers present — whom he referred to as “his kids” — from Reedy.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.