hang-on
noun
something easily attached to or mounted on another surface or object, as a turbocharger or transceiver in an automobile, a unit suspendable from shelving, or a portable soap dish.
hang-on
American
[hang-on, -awn]
/ ˈhæŋˌɒn, -ˌɔn /
noun
adjective
hang on
British
verb
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(adverb) to continue or persist in an activity, esp with effort or difficulty
hang on at your present job until you can get another
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(adverb) to cling, grasp, or hold
she hangs on to her mother's arm
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(preposition) to be conditioned or contingent on; depend on
everything hangs on this business deal
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Also: hang onto. hang upon. (preposition) to listen attentively to
she hung on his every word
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informal (adverb) to wait or remain
hang on for a few minutes
hang on
Idioms
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hang on to . Cling tightly to something, retain, as in Hang on to those papers before they blow away . [Mid-1800s] Also see hang on to your hat .
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Continue persistently, persevere, as in This cough is hanging on much longer than I expected , or He was hanging on, hoping business would improve when interest rates went down . This usage was sometimes embellished to , meaning “to persist at any cost.” [Second half of 1800s]
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Keep a telephone connection open, as in Please hang on, I'll see if he's in . [First half of 1900s]
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Wait for a short time, be patient, as in Hang on, I'm getting it as fast as I can . [First half of 1900s]
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Depend on, as in Our plans hang on their decision about the new park . [ Colloquial ; second half of 1900s]
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Blame on, as in They'll try to hang that robbery on the same gang, but I don't think they'll succeed . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]
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hang one on . Get very drunk, as in Come on, let's go and hang one on . [ Slang ; mid-1900s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with hang on .
Etymology
Origin of hang-on
Noun, adj. use of verb phrase hang on
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.
See Examples For:
"Dere's nodding like hang-on at der critical minute."
From No title by
Well, he's not the hang-on sort that Mr. Ferriss was; nothing undecided about Captain Ward Bennett; when he's sick, he's sick; rushes right at it like a blind bull.
From A Man's Woman by Frank Norris
Says it's nothin' but just grit and hang-on that keeps him alive.
From Fair Harbor by Joseph Crosby Lincoln
Well, you've got the hang-on, and that's what an officer-seeker needs.
From The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Ever after it was "Uncle Isaac" or "that old hang-on," but always with a lifting of the chin in pride.
From Tides of Barnegat by Francis Hopkinson Smith
The series started out being about class but "then they suddenly thought, hang on a minute, this is about life", she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Everyone will hang on the words of Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, a man who has made a public point of saying as little as possible.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Doyle Lane ceramic beads hang on a wooden clock above a collection of $2 bills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Above the river, the seagulls kept on the wing as long as they could, hoping the turbulence would bring them a good find”—not unlike these characters, struggling to hang on through uncertain weather.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
And as Pétain had ordered, French troops fought to hang on to every yard of territory and counterattacked to regain ground that had been lost.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
