hanger-on

American  

[hang-er-on, -awn] / ˈhæŋ ərˈɒn, -ˈɔn /

noun

• hangers-on
  plural

1. a person who remains in a place or joins a group, another person, etc., especially in the hope or expectation of personal gain, even though their presence may be neither wanted nor needed.

   Synonyms:

   follower, sycophant, parasite, toady

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hanger-on British  

noun

1. a sycophantic follower or dependant, esp one hoping for personal gain

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hangers-on
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hanger-on

1540–50; noun use of verb phrase hang on; see -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hanger-on hangers-on

A decorative hanger-on, dependent on her rich friends and relatives, she is now 29 and still single when many more ordinary women in her rarefied New York circle have made successful matches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Instead, the question is met with a punchline, as Kara admits to her hanger-on that she’s known as Supergirl.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026

Except he’s the geek, the hanger-on, the money man, so nobody does.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025

In “The Bear,” Matty Matheson, the Canadian chef and restaurateur, plays the hanger-on and handyman Neil, his first scripted role.

From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

She was with that whole Zach Powers crew, and not as a hanger-on either.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

The last of them, these spent survivors, these hangers-on, had trudged to the Citrus Show to talk about the real problem, which was the disease.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

Equally, the need for professors and instructors engendered by the college boom created its own class of intellectuals and intellectual hangers-on.

From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026

Everyone acted up: secretaries, senior partners, mailroom clerks, hangers-on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025

Think backward: Where things begin is the bitter end, at a glitzy Hollywood Hills party in 1976 full of showbiz hangers-on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025

They ordered one of their hangers-on to search the streets for Patterson, and when he was located, to telephone them.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou