hang out

British  

verb

1. to suspend, be suspended, or lean, esp from an opening, as for display or airing

   to hang out the washing

2. informal (intr) to live at or frequent a place

   the police know where the thieves hang out

3. informal to frequent the company (of someone)

4. slang to relax completely in an unassuming way (esp in the phrase let it all hang out )

5. informal (intr) to act or speak freely, in an open, cooperative, or indiscreet manner

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noun

1. informal a place where one lives or that one frequently visits

hang out Idioms  

1. Protrude downward, as in The dog's tongue was hanging out , or The branches hung out over the driveway . [c. 1400]

2. Display a flag or sign of some kind, as in They hung out the flag on every holiday . [Mid-1500s]

3. Reside, live, as in I've found a place downtown, and I'll be hanging out there beginning next week . [c. 1800]

4. Spend one's free time in; also, loiter, pass time idly. For example, They hung out around the pool parlor , or They spent the evening just hanging out . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

5. hang out with . Keep company with, appear in public with, as in She's hanging out with her ex-boyfriend again . [ Slang ; second half of 1900s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with hang out ; let it all hang out .

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Example Sentences

Hang out, have a seat, but do not wake me up, OK?’”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2025

Hang out with a widow of Jane Bowles’s invention, and take copious notes?

From New York Times • Jan. 27, 2024

"As a kid, I wanted to be part of the Lost Generation who came to France. Hang out at the Coupole with Picasso and Giacometti," he told the paper.

From Reuters • Sep. 12, 2022

Hang out with your friends, work out, watch movies.

From Slate • May 20, 2019

“I don’t know why you stopped. You should come back. Hang out with us. With Alyx. Don’t you want to be her friend?”

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows