to hang about
6
4.4
- phrasal verb
- UK
- I noticed some teenagers hanging about outside the store after school.
- hang about here
- see anyone hanging about
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- He started to hang about with the young firm for Modsall.
- I'm easy breezy underneath and this is just my little running errands and hang about the house for e-mail day outfit.
- I might go down to a nice village or something with my wife and, you know, hang about.
Examples
-
You shouldn't be hanging about the station if you have no ticket.
-
Uh, did you see anybody hanging about outside?
-
To hang about, waiting for you to come home?
-
I do not always hang about this place.
Fiction book (2001) -
What are you hanging about in here for?
Fiction book (1996) -
I told her to go off, but she keeps on hanging about.
-
You shouldn't be hanging about here, son.
-
Oupa must have been hanging about at the door waiting to open it for her.
Fiction book (1994) -
And I didn't want to keep Mom hanging about.
Fiction book (2002) -
How come you're hanging about here in this tavern in such a state?
Fiction book (1997)
Synonyms
∞
2.4
To spend time relaxing or talking with friends
371
1.1
To spend time sitting and doing very little without a clear purpose
334
2.0
To stay in a place without doing anything important
326
2.9
Stay in a place to wait for something
215
3.7
To stay in a place longer than expected because you do not want to leave
94
2.5
To spend time doing nothing while waiting for someone or something
66
3.4
To stay near a place longer than necessary because you hesitate
33
5.4
To stand or wait in a place without a clear reason
17
3.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
11
3.7
Move around slowly in a place without any clear purpose, often in a group
8
5.3
To move around a place without a clear reason, often in a group
7
5.9
To spend time somewhere doing nothing special
7
3.8
To relax and do very little
1
3.4
To spend time lazily doing little or nothing
1
6.5
To move around slowly doing small jobs in no hurry
1
4.1
Stay nearby or wait in a place for a short time
1
9.9
Move around without a clear plan or purpose
Antonyms
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to linger or wait' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'hang' (to persist or linger) with 'about' (around/in the vicinity). This verb + locative particle pattern is a common, compositional English construction and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Hang about comes from the simple picture of someone seeming to hang near a place, not moving, while about means 'around'. So when you hang about, you 'linger', meaning you wait or stay in a place without a clear purpose.