Hanging
'hæŋɪŋ
Definitions
3 meaningsTo suspend or be suspended from above.
'hæŋɪŋ
To suspend or be suspended from above, often by a rope or support.
The wet laundry was hanging on the clothesline.
💡 Simply: Like when you put your jacket on a hook or when a picture is attached to a wall with a nail. It's about things being held up without support from the ground.
👶 For kids: To stay up in the air from something like a hook or rope.
More Examples
The decorations were hanging from the ceiling.
The thief was sentenced to hanging.
How It's Used
"The picture was hanging crookedly on the wall."
"He was sentenced to hanging for his crimes."
"The climber was hanging from the cliff face."
The act of executing someone by suspending them by a rope.
'hæŋɪŋ
The act of executing by suspending from a rope.
Hanging was the punishment for the crime.
💡 Simply: It's a very old and sad way of punishing someone, where they are killed by being hung from a rope around their neck.
👶 For kids: When someone is killed by being tied up with a rope around their neck.
More Examples
The public spectacle of the hanging was a deterrent to crime.
How It's Used
"Hanging was a common form of capital punishment in the past."
"The trial was a case of hanging."
Suspended from above.
'hæŋɪŋ
Relating to the act of suspending or being suspended.
We admired the hanging tapestry on the wall.
💡 Simply: Something that is up and not supported from below, like a plant basket swinging from your porch or decorations that are suspended from the ceiling.
👶 For kids: Something that is staying up in the air without touching the ground.
More Examples
She has a hanging garden in her balcony.
How It's Used
"The hanging basket was full of flowers."
"The hanging sculpture was the centerpiece of the gallery."
Idioms & expressions
hanging around
To spend time in a place or with someone without a particular purpose.
"I was just hanging around the mall, killing time."
hanging by a thread
In a precarious or dangerous situation; very close to failure or collapse.
"His career was hanging by a thread after the scandal."
hang in the balance
To be uncertain, or in a state of indecision.
"The fate of the project hangs in the balance."
From Middle English hangen, from Old English hangian 'to hang, be suspended'.
The word 'hanging' has been used in legal and historical contexts for centuries, relating to capital punishment by suspension.
Memory tip
Imagine a coat hanger, that's what a picture is hanging from.
Word Origin
"to hang, be suspended"