1.
to end a phone call
“Don't hang up!”
“She hung up on me.”
Synonyms: to end the call
Phrasal verb
What does hang up mean?
Meaning: to end a phone call; to hang clothes
B1
This page for:
Quick answer
Hang up = to end a phone call or to put clothes on a hook. Don't hang up! = don't end the call! Hang up your coat = put your coat on the hook.
Meanings of the phrasal verb
2.
to put clothes or a picture on a hook
common“Hang up your coat on the hook.”
“I hung up the painting.”
Synonyms: to hang
Word order
Separable
The object can go between the verb and the particle. With a pronoun (it, them), it always goes between.
Forms
- Present Simple:
- hang up
- Past Simple:
- hung up
- Past participle:
- hung up
- -ing form:
- hanging up
Common mistakes to avoid
Hang up ON someone
She hung up on me = she ended the call while I was talking. The preposition on + a person shows that it was rude. Never She hung me up ❌.
Hang up or hang on? (phone)
They are opposites. Hang up = to end the call. Hang on = to wait and stay on the phone. Hang on, I'll get my mum / Don't hang up!
Practice quiz
Question 1 / 3The Big Challenge question bank
Related pages: hang up
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
What's next?
Hang up: 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 up” on PLAYFree · No sign-up · 3 minutes
For teachersHang up: 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.
Discover the Academy30-day free trial · No bank card needed
English contestHang up: often tested in the English contest
Instead of another class test, your students answer questions based on the CEFR levels, in a contest that brings the whole school together.
Register my students5,000 students every year · Primary and secondary
Frequently asked questions
What does hang up mean?+
Hang up = (1) to end a phone call; (2) to put clothes or a picture on a hook or a wall. The phone meaning is the most common today.
Is hang up separable?+
Yes. With a noun: hang up the coat / hang the coat up. With a pronoun: hang it up. For the phone, there is no object: Don't hang up!
What does hang up on someone mean?+
It means to end a phone call suddenly while the other person is still talking. He hung up on me = he ended the call suddenly. It is rude.
What is the difference between hang and hang up?+
Hang (without a particle) = to put something somewhere so that it stays up (a picture, clothes). Hang up = to put it on a hook, often high up. Hang up adds the idea of “up high” or of ending something (a phone call).
What does hung up mean?+
As an adjective, hung up means that you think about something or someone all the time and it worries you. He's hung up on her = he thinks about her all the time. She's hung up about her marks = her marks worry her too much. This is a figurative meaning.
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-up
© 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.