hang out
Britishverb
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to suspend, be suspended, or lean, esp from an opening, as for display or airing
to hang out the washing
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informal (intr) to live at or frequent a place
the police know where the thieves hang out
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informal to frequent the company (of someone)
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slang to relax completely in an unassuming way (esp in the phrase let it all hang out )
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informal (intr) to act or speak freely, in an open, cooperative, or indiscreet manner
noun
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Protrude downward, as in The dog's tongue was hanging out , or The branches hung out over the driveway . [c. 1400]
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Display a flag or sign of some kind, as in They hung out the flag on every holiday . [Mid-1500s]
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Reside, live, as in I've found a place downtown, and I'll be hanging out there beginning next week . [c. 1800]
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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]
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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 .
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.
If not, I have a simple solution: Just hang out!
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
A thrilling evocation of 1980s New York, where hip-hop groups and fashion designers would hang out with Lou Reed and David Byrne.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
"We've got everything we need, really. And quite a few people hang out here, so there's a good atmosphere," Maissame Decosse, 26, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
“He comes over to my house every so often, and we just hang out and do whatever,” Payne said of his then-2-year-old son.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
At least the heat had less bite and the humidity had dropped to tolerable levels, so I was able to hang out on the sidewalk and think about all my predicaments.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
