hang out
Britishverb
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to suspend, be suspended, or lean, esp from an opening, as for display or airing
to hang out the washing
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informal (intr) to live at or frequent a place
the police know where the thieves hang out
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informal to frequent the company (of someone)
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slang to relax completely in an unassuming way (esp in the phrase let it all hang out )
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informal (intr) to act or speak freely, in an open, cooperative, or indiscreet manner
noun
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Protrude downward, as in The dog's tongue was hanging out , or The branches hung out over the driveway . [c. 1400]
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Display a flag or sign of some kind, as in They hung out the flag on every holiday . [Mid-1500s]
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Reside, live, as in I've found a place downtown, and I'll be hanging out there beginning next week . [c. 1800]
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Spend one's free time in; also, loiter, pass time idly. For example, They hung out around the pool parlor , or They spent the evening just hanging out . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]
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hang out with . Keep company with, appear in public with, as in She's hanging out with her ex-boyfriend again . [ Slang ; second half of 1900s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with hang out ; let it all 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.
"All the adopted children were brought together to hang out and bond and have dinner."
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
About Estrada Courts, she says, “Our mom had friends there, and she would go comadreando. We would hang out with the lady’s daughters. It was like our go-to place.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Eyelid lifts were one of the top five cosmetic surgeries last year; if you hang out in a certain corner of Instagram, you might not be able to escape the term bleph, short for blepharoplasty.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
Sometimes the managers who have your back, more than the ones who are fun to hang out with, are the coolest bosses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Steven and Weslee had returned from their trips and said they couldn’t wait to hang out.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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.
