Hang up meaning
Hang up means to end a phone call. It can also mean to put clothes on a hook or hanger.
hang up
hang up · hung · hanging
She said goodbye and hung up.
Hang up meanings and examples
3 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
End a phone call
hang up
- She said goodbye and hung up.
- Don’t hang up! I haven’t finished.
- He hung up on me in the middle of a sentence.
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2
Put clothes on a hook or hanger
hang something up
- Hang up your coat and come in.
- I hung my shirts up so they wouldn’t crease.
- Your jacket is on the floor. Please hang it up.
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3
Stop doing a sport or job for good
hang somebody or something up
- After twenty years, she finally hung up her boots.
- He’s hanging up his apron and closing the restaurant.
- My running shoes? I’m not ready to hang them up yet.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use hang up in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is hang up separable?
For phone calls, hang up has no object. Add on before the person, when they did not want the call to end: She hung up on me. For clothes, it is separable: hang up your coat, hang it up.
A hang-up, with a hyphen, is a worry about yourself that you cannot stop: He has a hang-up about his height. The adjective is hung up: Don’t get hung up on small details.
Verb tenses for hang up
| Present | I hang up · she hangs up |
|---|---|
| Past | hung up |
| Present perfect | have hung up |
| -ing form | hanging up |
Common mistakes with hang up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: He hung up me before I could explain.
Right: He hung up on me before I could explain.
Use hang up on + person.
Wrong: Can you hang up it in the wardrobe?
Right: Can you hang it up in the wardrobe?
A pronoun goes between hang and up.
Wrong: She hanged up the phone.
Right: She hung up the phone.
The past is hung, not hanged.
Synonyms and opposites of hang up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- end the callthe neutral way to say hang up
- put awayput things in the place where they are kept
- put down the phoneUK, end a call on a landline
Opposite
- pick upanswer a phone call
- call backphone someone again after a call
Hang up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1The line went quiet, and then he ___.
Hang up means end a phone call.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Use hang up on someone.
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3“Hang up your towel, please. Don’t leave it on the floor.” What should you do?
Hang up clothes or towels means put them on a hook or hanger.
More phrasal verbs with hang
4 phrasal verbs start with hang. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
Hang up FAQ
Questions people ask about hang up.
What does hang up on someone mean?
It means end a call suddenly while the other person still wants to talk. It usually sounds rude.
What is a hang-up?
A hang-up is a worry or fear about something, often about yourself: She has no hang-ups about her age.
Why do we say hang up for phones?
Old phones had a hook on the wall. You hung the receiver on it to end the call. The words stayed for mobile phones.
Use hang up in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.