Phrasal Verbs with “HANG” in English

The verb to hang [hæŋ] is an irregular verb. Its main forms are presented in the table

Also, hang can be used as a noun, then it means general meaning, manner, inclination, etc.

Consider common phrasal verbs with to hang in the English:

• hang about/around
  • He hung about/around the entrance all day, hoping for a chance to speak to the director
• hang back
  • Joe tends to hang back and let the others do the talking
• hang on 
  • Hang on; I’ll be with you in a minute!
  • Hang on everybody, the road’s pretty bumpy
• hang on to
  • I’d hang on to that old coat if I were you. It might be useful
• hang onto
  • You kind of hang onto what you know well.
• hang out/around
  • They hang out/hang around together
  • Have you hung the washing out?
• hang over
  • The plant is useful to hang over the door to gain energy
• hang up
  • She said good night and hung up
  • Philip hung his coat on a hook behind the door
  • She took her coat off and hung it up
• hang with
  • I’m happy to hang with the kids

The two verbs of this series, hang around/about and hang out, are a colloquial variant of the meaning of waiting or spending time in some place: loitering, wandering around, hanging out, etc. Unlike hang out, the verb hang around/about has an additional meaning located somewhere nearby:

• Hang around in case we need you

These phrasal verbs hang on and hang up are associated with a telephone conversation:

• hang on — wait by the phone, do not hang up: Hang on a second while I look it up
• hang up — Don’t hang up, I haven’t finished talking to you!

The verbs hang on, hang out and hang up are used literally and figuratively:

• hang on – to any physical object, rope or rope and hold on until help arrives. In addition, this verb has the meaning to wait, it is not necessary to wait when talking on the phone:hang on – I’ll just see if he’s here.
• hang out – linen, poster, flag, etc.
• hang up – hang on a hook, coat hanger, etc.

6 Phrasal Verbs with HANG: hang on, hang up, hang out…