hang out
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (intransitive):
- To spend time in a particular place, often in a relaxed or social manner.
- To spend time with a particular person or group of people.
Verb (transitive):
- To suspend something so it is visible in an open space (a less common, literal meaning, but included for completeness as it is the base form).
Usage and Examples
Intransitive Verb (Most Common Meaning):
- Where do you usually hang out on weekends?
- They hang out at the library after school.
- I'm just hanging out at home tonight.
Transitive Verb (Literal Meaning):
- She will hang out the wet clothes on the line to dry. (Note: This usage is often phrased as "hang out the laundry.")
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- "Hang out with [someone]": This is the most frequent construction for the social meaning.
- He's been hanging out with his new classmates.
- It implies informal, unstructured time and is often used for casual socializing among friends.
- The past tense and past participle are hung out.
- We hung out at the park all afternoon.
Variants and Related Words
- Hangout (noun): A place where someone frequently spends time socially.
- That coffee shop is our favorite hangout.
- Hanger-on (noun): A person who associates with another person or group for personal gain, not a direct variant but related in the sense of "staying around."
Synonyms
- Socialize: To participate in social activities.
- Spend time: A more general phrase.
- Chill (informal): To spend time relaxing.
- Frequent (verb): To visit a place often.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Hang around: Very similar to "hang out," meaning to wait or spend time in a place without a specific purpose.
- He likes to hang around the music store.
- Hang back: To hesitate or stay behind others.
- She decided to hang back and observe the meeting.
Idioms and Common Phrases
- Let it all hang out (idiom): To behave in a very relaxed, uninhibited way.
- At the beach party, everyone could let it all hang out.
- Hang out one's shingle (idiom): To start one's own professional business, especially as a doctor or lawyer. (This uses the literal "hang out" meaning).
- After passing the bar exam, she hung out her shingle as a defense attorney.
Verb
- spend time in a certain location or with certain people
- She hangs out at the corner cafe