transitive verb hung, hanging, hanged
- to attach to something above with no support from below; suspend
- to attach so as to permit free motion at the point of attachment: to hang a door on its hinges
- to put to death by tying a rope about the neck and suddenly suspending the body so as to snap the neck or cause strangulation
- to fasten (pictures, etc.) to a wall by hooks, wires, etc.
- to ornament or cover with things suspended: to hang a room with pictures and drapes
- to paste (wallpaper) to walls
- to exhibit (pictures) in a museum or gallery
- to let (one's head) droop downward
- to fasten (an ax head, scythe blade, etc.) with correct balance
- to pin and sew the hem of (a dress) evenly at a desired distance from the floor
- ☆ to deadlock (a jury) by one's vote
- to fix (something) on a person or thing
- ☆ Baseball to pitch (a breaking ball) that fails to curve sharply and is therefore easy to hit
Origin:
ME hangen, with form < OE vi. hangian & ON vi. hanga; senses < these, also < OE vt. hon & ON caus. v. hengja; akin to Ger vi. hangen, vt. hängen, to execute (caus.): all ult. < IE base *enk, to sway, hang (akin to *keg- > hook)