: a source of mental or emotional difficulty
broadly
: problem
hung up; hanging up; hangs up
1
a
: to place on a hook or hanger designed for the purpose
hang up your coat
b
: to replace (a telephone receiver) on the cradle so that the connection is broken
2
: to keep delayed, suspended, or held up
3
: to cause to stick or snag immovably
the ship was hung up on a sandbar
1
: to break a telephone connection
2
: to become stuck or snagged so as to be immovable
Examples of hang-up in a Sentence
Noun
low self-esteem is only one of his many hang-ups
Recent Examples on the Web
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 6 Apr. 2025
The level of spending cuts in the House budget resolution has been one of the final — and major — hang-ups as the chamber looks to coalesce around an agreement.
—Mychael Schnell, The Hill, 11 Feb. 2025
Kim Willis, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
And when one caller’s story about life on a boat went on too long, Mulaney hung up on him.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hang-up
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Noun
John Tar, who told him that patrol had responded to a 911 hang-up involving a verbal argument between a man and woman, the warrant affidavit said.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 6 Apr. 2025
The level of spending cuts in the House budget resolution has been one of the final — and major — hang-ups as the chamber looks to coalesce around an agreement.
—Mychael Schnell, The Hill, 11 Feb. 2025
Verb
John replied with annoyance, and the conversation ultimately ended with McCartney abruptly hanging up on him.
—Kim Willis, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
And when one caller’s story about life on a boat went on too long, Mulaney hung up on him.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hang-up
Cite this Entry
“Hang-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hang-up. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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