a preoccupation, fixation, or psychological block; complex.
His hang-up is trying to outdo his brother.
a source of annoying difficulty or burden; impediment; snag.
The most serious hang-up the project has is a shortage of funds.
a fixture, object, or decoration that can be affixed to a wall, ceiling, other objects, etc..
He brightened up the room with flower baskets and other hang-ups.
(tr) to put on a hook, hanger, etc
please hang up your coat
to replace (a telephone receiver) on its cradle at the end of a conversation, often breaking a conversation off abruptly
informal to cause to have an emotional or psychological preoccupation or problem
he's really hung up on his mother
an emotional or psychological preoccupation or problem
a persistent cause of annoyance
Suspend on a hook or hanger, as in Let me hang up your coat for you . [c. 1300]
Also, hang up on . Replace a telephone receiver in its cradle; end a phone conversation. For example, She hung up the phone , or He hung up on her . [Early 1900s]
Delay or hinder; also, become halted or snagged, as in Budget problems hung up the project for months , or Traffic was hung up for miles . [Second half of 1800s]
Have or cause to have emotional difficulties, as in Being robbed at gunpoint can hang one up for years to come . [ Slang ; early 1900s]
hung up on . Obsessed with, as in For years the FBI was hung up on Communist spies . [First half of 1900s]
. Quit, retire, as in He's hanging up his sword next year and moving to Florida . The noun in these expressions refers to the profession one is leaving— sword for the military, gloves for boxing, and fiddle for music—but they all are used quite loosely as well, as in the example.
hang up one's hat . Settle somewhere, reside, as in “Eight hundred a year, and as nice a house as any gentleman could wish to hang up his hat in” (Anthony Trollope, The Warden , 1855).
First recorded in 1955–60; noun use of verb phrase hang up
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The biggest hang-up with his nomination was not that there was a lack of organic support among Senate Republicans.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2026
Here’s my hang-up: Artificial intelligence genuinely freaks me out.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 24, 2026
The hang-up was over the potential for Nvidia processors to eventually end up in China.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2025
Trump has reportedly had a hang-up about his mitts since Greydon Carter's Spy magazine called him a "short-fingered vulgarian" three decades ago.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2024
Maybe it was my own personal hang-up, but I felt like both girls were waiting to see if I would flip out or something.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
One pictures McConnell’s aides staring at the hospital clock, counting the seconds until 20 minutes have passed, and being pleased to inform the senator that he can hang up.
From Slate ● Jul. 11, 2026
Oldman loves returning to “Slow Horses” every year and says that as long as Apple is willing to “keep writing those checks, I’m not ready to hang up my dirty raincoat just yet.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
Its Intel profits alone would make Gordon Gekko hang up his suspenders.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
So when your relative calls claiming they’ve been kidnapped, you’ll know to hang up if they can’t name your first pet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
They could not convince her to talk to me, so I had to hang up the phone.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
These unofficial sessions, in which Daphne recalls wholesome, inspiring moments of communion with Eddie, cure her of pretty much all her childhood hang-ups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
"And that too is what underpins this relationship, now entirely free of hang-ups," he added.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
Encouraging voluntary resignations wouldn’t have the same hang-ups.
From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2024
Several schools had the same thought, among them Georgia, which apparently had gotten over its hang-ups about Marks’ size.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2024
“You don’t have to have any hang-ups with me,” Chapter Eleven said loudly.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
