hanging

American  

[hang-ing] / ˈhæŋ ɪŋ /

noun

• hangings
  plural

1. the act, an instance, or the form of capital punishment carried out by suspending one by the neck from a gallows, gibbet, or the like, until dead.

2. Often hangings. something that hangs or is hung on the walls of a room, as a drapery or tapestry.

3. a suspending or temporary attaching, as of a painting.

   a careless hanging of pictures.

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adjective

1. punishable by, deserving, or causing death by hanging.

   a hanging crime; a hanging offense.

2. inclined to inflict death by hanging.

   a hanging jury.

3. suspended; pendent; overhanging.

   a hanging cliff.

4. situated on a steep slope or at a height.

   a hanging garden.

5. directed downward.

   a hanging look.

6. made, holding, or suitable for a hanging object.

hanging British  

/ ˈhæŋɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. the putting of a person to death by suspending the body by the neck from a noose

   2. ( as modifier )

      a hanging offence

2. (often plural) a decorative textile such as a tapestry or drapery hung on a wall or over a window

3. the act of a person or thing that hangs

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adjective

1. not supported from below; suspended

2. undecided; still under discussion

3. inclining or projecting downwards; overhanging

4. situated on a steep slope or in a high place

5. (prenominal) given to issuing harsh sentences, esp death sentences

   a hanging judge

6. informal unpleasant

7. chess See hanging pawn

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unhanging
  adjective
• hangingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hangings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hanging

1250–1300; Middle English (noun, adj.), Old English hangande (adj.) See hang, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hanging hangings

“I don’t think that there are many people who worked harder than my dad,” said Hannah Cannom, recalling childhood weekends spent hanging out at nurses’ stations around the hospital as her father made his rounds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

“I am hanging on to an academic career by my fingernails,” the 39-year-old wrote in May, as he plied his trade as a part-time postdoc at a public university in Belgium.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Visiting the Pochaina flea market 10 days after the Russian attack, AFP journalists could still smell the mix of burnt metal and plastic hanging in the air.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

His second reason to remain upbeat is that most stocks have been hanging in there even as major indexes drop, due to “resilient” market breadth — the number of stocks rising versus those falling.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

That and hanging out with Gabi at break times.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

It does not, for example, permit wall hangings that don’t actually exist.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 3, 2026

The bed, fitted with exquisite blue-and-white toile hangings, reflects the Washingtons’ taste.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

If framed travel photos or ceramic wall hangings are aesthetically pleasing or stylish, they can function as decor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2025

They identified eight skulls in the collection that could have been related to the 1900 hangings.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2023

Matt observed everything from behind pillars or wall hangings.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer