to hang around
407
2.0
- phrasal verb
- /hæŋ əˈraʊnd/
- Informal
:
pasar el rato
- I like to hang around the park after school and relax with my friends.
- just hang around
- hang around with kids
- hang around in groups
It's where you'll be hanging around all four years of your life.
- It's where you'll be hanging around all four years of your life.
- I'm so lucky that I get immense joy from hanging around with my friends.
- And the others just, you know, hang around and drink and watch TV, right?
- He doesn't vibe with those type of people that you hang around and interact with.
- If that sounds good to you, hang around till the end.
- David will be hanging around somewhere and talking to anyone who wants to talk.
- So therefore you would watch that cause your brain's still hanging around, isn't it?
- And then the third red flag would be they hang around a very negative circle.
Examples
-
I'm so lucky that I get immense joy from hanging around with my friends.
-
Jack, I think it's best that you find other friends to hang around with.
-
Who are the five people you hang around the most in school?
-
And it's just sort of like you just hang around and you keep going.
-
And the others just, you know, hang around and drink and watch TV, right?
-
Are there some kids in the class who hang around together and play together a lot?
Academic text (2001) -
The last thing she wanted was to hang around a bunch of lonely singles at the complex.
Fiction book (1991) -
I told you I don't want you hanging around those people.
-
"We go on a two-week camping trip, and we hang around here for about two weeks.
Fiction book (1991) -
I've learned much by hanging around the men and women who produce these objects.
Academic text (2009)
Synonyms
946
2.4
To spend time relaxing or talking with friends
775
1.3
Exist or stay in a place for a time and be available if needed
350
1.1
To spend time sitting and doing very little without a clear purpose
332
2.9
Stay in a place to wait for something
214
1.7
To go on foot in a place without a clear purpose, often for pleasure
207
3.7
To stay in a place longer than expected because you do not want to leave
111
4.1
To spend time doing playful or unplanned activities
71
2.5
To spend time doing nothing while waiting for someone or something
43
3.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
26
5.4
To stand or wait in a place without a clear reason
14
9.1
To spend time relaxing with friends or alone without a plan
12
2.7
To sit or lie in a place and relax
9
3.7
Move around slowly in a place without any clear purpose, often in a group
7
6.2
To spend time doing little or nothing instead of working
7
7.5
To stay in a place longer than expected
7
5.3
To move around a place without a clear reason, often in a group
5
3.8
To relax and do very little
3
5.9
To spend time somewhere doing nothing special
3
4.4
To stay in a place without a clear reason
3
8.4
To spend time doing not important things in a relaxed way
2
9.5
To waste time instead of doing the work you need
2
4.6
Stay somewhere longer than is safe or needed
1
3.4
To spend time lazily doing little or nothing
1
4.4
To spend time doing very little and relaxing
1
6.5
To move around slowly doing small jobs in no hurry
1
9.9
Move around without a clear plan or purpose
To spend time doing small unimportant things with no real plan
Move around without a plan to have fun
Stay nearby or wait in a place for a short time
Antonyms
How Long
26
5.4
207
3.7
- Informal
407
2.0
- Informal
494
2.5
- Informal
25
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to stay or spend time in a place without any specific purpose' is directly and transparently derived from 'hang' (to persist or linger) combined with 'around' (in or moving about aimlessly). This verb + particle composition is a common, compositional pattern in English (and has parallels in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Hang around comes from the simple image of hang meaning to stay in one spot and around meaning nearby, so picture someone staying near a shop or park and doing nothing for a while. That's why it now means 'to stay or spend time somewhere without any clear purpose'.