Words / B2

HANG/hæŋ/

To hang is to fix something from above, or to remain in the air: hang a picture; smoke hung over the pitch; a question hangs over the data. As hang on = wait (informal). Hang the labels at eye level. Past: hung for pictures; hanged is the old legal verb for execution — a sensitive spelling trap. Do not mix with hanger (already in the dictionary).

Meaning

To fix something so that it is held from above; also to remain in the air (smoke, a question).

Examples

• “Hang the exhibition labels at eye level before the parents’ evening.”
• “A question hangs over the sampling frame, which is the figurative sense.”

Good to know

hang a picture / an exhibition; hang over (a problem). Informal: hang on. Past: hung vs hanged (legal, sensitive). Object: hanger. Art and news.

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