hang over
Idioms-
Remain suspended or unsettled, as in They plan to let the vote hang over until the next session . This usage alludes to something suspended or floating in the air. [c. 1200]
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Also, hang over one's head . Threaten or be imminent, as in I've got that test hanging over me , or A stiff fine is hanging over his head . [Mid-1500s] Also see hang by a thread .
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.
Some of the sharper moves came from companies announcing takeovers of rivals, but the larger market remained listless as several worries hang over Wall Street.
From Seattle Times
"It's not a number where the Fed could relax, therefore investors could have confidence this is still going to hang over the market's head and that coupled with a narrow leadership in equity markets in addition with the uncertainty around the debt ceiling is going to create some near-term consternation."
From Reuters
Our past doesn’t hang over us, it’s woven into our very being.
From Los Angeles Times
Today, visitors to Franconia Notch State Park can “see” the Old Man’s profile through a series of steel rods driven into a granite base that hang over a lake and point toward the cliff.
From Seattle Times
For many, poverty and despair hang over them like a toxic cloud.
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.