hang about
phrasal verb·1 sense·particle about
Meanings
Spend time waiting or loitering somewhere
British. Americans say hang around. Compare the regional counterpart.
Why “about”? Movement spreads in many directions, without one clear target.
“Teenagers hang about the park.”
“Maya and Leo hung about by the club queue during the name check.”
Don't confuse with
Hang about means spend time waiting or loitering somewhere. Hang around means stay nearby without a purpose.
Test yourself
“Teenagers hang about the park.” What does it mean?
Nearby in the meaning map
Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.
hang around
A contrast learners often mix up
Stay nearby without a purpose; Stay in a place without doing much; Spend time with a person or group regularly
fool about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Behave foolishly or waste time
fuss about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Move or worry busily without much purpose
get about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Move around or travel in general
knock about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Travel or move around in various places
lie about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Be left untidily in various places; Tell untruths concerning a subject
loaf about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Spend time idly without doing anything productive
mess about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Spend time idly or playfully without serious purpose
Sink In — iOS & Android
Practice “hang about” in Sink In
Drill “hang about” and 1,300+ other phrasal verbs with spaced repetition, organised by the particle patterns that connect them.
- Learn the pattern behind dozens of verbs at once — not one-off translations.
- Spaced repetition (SM-2) brings each meaning back right before you forget.
- Four practice modes train recall and discrimination, not just recognition.
