string along

phrasal verb·1 sense·particle along

Meanings

1

Deceive someone by giving false hope or false promises over time

Agreement

Why “along”? You move along with another person's line, accepting or pretending to accept it.

“He strung her along for months.”
He deceived her with false promises for months.
“The company strung buyers along with false delivery dates.”
The company deceived buyers with false promises over time.

Don't confuse with

string alongstring together

String along means deceive someone by giving false hope or false promises over time. String together means combine words or actions to form something meaningful.

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“He strung her along for months.” What does it mean?

Nearby in the meaning map

Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.

string together

A contrast learners often mix up

Combine words or actions to form something meaningful

go along

Same along pattern: agreement

Agree with or support someone's plan

play along

Same along pattern: agreement

Pretend to agree to deceive or appease someone

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