Phrasal Verb: hang up

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1. To hang up something (or hang something up) means to hang something, especially clothes, on a hanger or hook.

Examples of use:
Your grandmother is coming to visit today, so don’t forget to hang up your clothes when you tidy your room.

Could you hang my coat up, please?

2. A hang up (informal) is something that a person worries about a lot, or something they are afraid of, when they probably don’t need to be.

Examples of use:
She has a real hang up about being seen without her make-up on.

There’s no point getting hung up about it; there’s nothing you can do.

3. Hang up also means to end a telephone conversation. It usually refers to ending the conversation suddenly or unexpectedly. It comes from the action of replacing the part you speak into on a telephone, back onto its normal place on the telephone (see the photo below) but we also use the phrase when referring to conversations on mobile phones.

Examples of use:
Don’t hang up on me, I haven’t finished arguing with you!

I wouldn’t bother ordering anything from that company if I were you; the lady from their customer service department hung up on me last week.

infinitive – hang up

present simple – hang up and hangs up

-ing form – hanging up

past simple – hung up

past participle – hung up

Image of clothes on hangers by annie.oeldorfhirsch
Image of telephone by nationalrural

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