1.
to spend free time with friends (informal)
“We're hanging out at the mall.”
“Do you want to hang out tomorrow?”
“I hang out with my friends after school.”
Synonyms: to spend time, to chill, to socialize
Phrasal verb
What does hang out mean?
Meaning: to spend free time with friends
B1
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Quick answer
Hang out = to spend free time with friends (informal). I hang out with friends after school. It is very common when young people speak. Use with + a person. With this meaning, there is no direct object (but hang out the washing is separable).
Meanings of the phrasal verb
2.
to put wet clothes outside to dry
common“I hung out the washing.”
Word order
Inseparable
The object goes after the particle, never between the verb and the particle.
Forms
- Present Simple:
- hang out
- Past Simple:
- hung out
- Past participle:
- hung out
- -ing form:
- hanging out
Common mistakes to avoid
Irregular verb: hung (not hanged)
Hang → hung → hung. We hung out yesterday ✓ / We hanged out yesterday ❌. Hanged exists only for the meaning “to kill someone with a rope”.
Hang out or hang on?
Hang out = to spend free time with friends. Hang on = to wait (or to hold something tightly). Hang on a minute = wait a minute.
Practice quiz
Question 1 / 3The Big Challenge question bank
Related pages: hang out
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
What's next?
Hang out: you understand the rule. Now practise it.
Understanding a rule is only the first step. On PLAY, you use it in real situations, at your own pace, until it becomes automatic.
Practise “hang out” on PLAYFree · No sign-up · 3 minutes
For teachersHang out: a ready-to-use lesson sequence
The Academy gives you step-by-step exercises, answer keys and a tracking dashboard: you keep the teaching, and the tool takes care of the practice and the marking.
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English contestHang out: often tested in the English contest
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Frequently asked questions
What does hang out mean?+
Hang out means to spend free time somewhere, often with friends, and relax. It is informal and spoken, and young people in the UK and the US use it a lot. Meaning 2: to put wet clothes outside to dry.
What is the difference between hang out and hang around?+
Hang out = to spend time with people (a neutral, friendly meaning). Hang around = to stay somewhere with nothing to do (it can sound negative). The kids hang around the park can suggest that they are bored or causing problems.
Is it hung out or hanged out?+
Hang is irregular: hang / hung / hung. Use hung for EVERYTHING, except one very special meaning (to kill a person with a rope, as a punishment), where people say hanged. The painting was hung (on the wall). We hung out yesterday (we spent time together yesterday).
What is a hangout?+
A hangout (one word) is a place where you often spend time with friends. Our favourite hangout = the place we like best to meet. The word also gave its name to Google Hangouts, an old chat app (it closed in 2022).
Is hang out separable?+
Meaning 1 has no direct object (use with + a person or at + a place). Meaning 2 (wet clothes) is separable: hang the clothes out / hang out the clothes.
Related phrasal verbs
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/phrasal-verbs/hang-out
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.