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.
Although, as is the case with too much of Nolan’s storytelling, he wrongly thinks it’s more interesting to withhold Odysseus’ traumatic hang-up until the ending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
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
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
Its Intel profits alone would make Gordon Gekko hang up his suspenders.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Johnson: The whole commute, I’m trying to get them to eventually hang up.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
Towel bars so I can hang up my towel and not have to get a new one each day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
I hang up before she can infect my mind with anything else.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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
For instance, seemingly every day there are men suffering hang-ups about their masculinity, their fertility, or their paternity.
From Slate ● Apr. 26, 2024
And in any case, he would never go back to her, not after everything she did to him, to us—all the harassment, all those late-night phone calls, hang-ups, text messages.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
