hangout
Americannoun
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hangouts
plural
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a place where people gather for casual socializing or recreation.
The pub is an ultracasual hangout, mostly frequented by undergraduates from the local university.
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a place that a person frequently visits, especially for socializing or recreation.
The record store was one of my favorite neighborhood hangouts when I was a kid.
verb phrase
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to lean or be suspended through an opening.
If you hang out the window that far, you're likely to fall right out!
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to suspend in open view; display.
Her family hangs out the flag every day, not just on holidays.
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Informal. to frequent a particular place, especially in one's free time.
We’ve all got friends who would rather hang out at a bookstore with a glass of wine than go clubbing.
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Informal. to linger or loiter somewhere.
We’ve got nothing better to do, so we’ll probably just hang out.
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Informal. to spend time with someone.
I’d love the chance to hang out with some like-minded folks.
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Informal. to wait, especially briefly.
Hang out a minute while I get my backpack.
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Slang. to calm down.
Hang out, Mom, I'm OK.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hangout
An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; noun use of verb phrase hang out
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.
See Examples For:
Mallorca’s sun-drenched beaches and hilltop villages have been a popular hangout for foreign writers, artists and musicians for more than a century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
There needs to be a really good hangout spot, so the couch needs to be super comfortable, and if the couch isn’t comfortable, no one wants to stay there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Giuliana Calia, a Ph.D. student in New York, and her partner, a medical student in Michigan, had to cancel a hangout they had planned for this weekend after Spirit’s closure.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
How did a venue once considered a "dropout's hangout" become snooker's ultimate stage?
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
Over the past few years, the Basement had become a highly exclusive hangout for elite gunters.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Mileva blocked Madelyn’s internet access, and has been trying to fill her daughter’s time with more in-person hangouts with friends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
All that promise started to wither around 2015, as social media giants gobbled up more and more of the profits that kept earlier hangouts afloat.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
The hegemony of claw machines has also gone hand in hand with a gradual transformation of urban hangouts.
From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025
It follows an announcement in November that Roblox would be barring under-13s from "social hangouts", where players can communicate with each other using text or voice messages, from Monday.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2024
My tiny entourage’s cheers faded as I continued down the main road toward my next stop and one of my favorite hangouts, the public library.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
