hang-up

or hang·up

[ hang-uhp ]
See synonyms for hang-up on Thesaurus.com
nounSlang.
  1. a preoccupation, fixation, or psychological block; complex: His hang-up is trying to outdo his brother.

  2. a source of annoying difficulty or burden; impediment; snag: The most serious hang-up the project has is a shortage of funds.

  1. 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.

Origin of hang-up

1
First recorded in 1955–60; noun use of verb phrase hang up

Words Nearby hang-up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hang-up in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hang up

hang up

verb(adverb)
  1. (tr) to put on a hook, hanger, etc: please hang up your coat

  2. to replace (a telephone receiver) on its cradle at the end of a conversation, often breaking a conversation off abruptly

  1. (tr; usually passive usually foll by on) informal to cause to have an emotional or psychological preoccupation or problem: he's really hung up on his mother

nounhang-up informal
  1. an emotional or psychological preoccupation or problem

  2. a persistent cause of annoyance

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with hang-up

hang-up

Suspend on a hook or hanger, as in Let me hang up your coat for you. [c. 1300]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.