hanger
Americannoun
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hangers
plural
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a shoulder-shaped frame with a hook at the top, usually of wire, wood, or plastic, for draping and hanging a garment when not in use.
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a part of something by which it is hung, as a loop on a garment.
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a contrivance on which things are hung, as a hook.
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Automotive. a double-hinged device linking the chassis with the leaf springs on vehicles having solid axles.
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a light saber of the 17th and 18th centuries, often worn by sailors.
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a person who hangs something.
noun
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any support, such as a hook, strap, peg, or loop, on or by which something may be hung
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See coat hanger
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a person who hangs something
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( in combination )
paperhanger
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a bracket designed to attach one part of a mechanical structure to another, such as the one that attaches the spring shackle of a motor car to the chassis
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a wood on a steep hillside, characteristically beech growing on chalk in southern England
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a loop or strap on a sword belt from which a short sword or dagger was hung
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the weapon itself
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hanger
Explanation
A device you use to hang something, like clothing, is a hanger. When your brother drops his jacket on the floor, you might remind him to put it on a hanger and hang it up in the closet. Clothes and coat hangers are common, often made from metal or wood that's bent into a triangular shape. Other hangers include picture hangers and plant hangers — really, anything from which you can hang something is a hanger. A person who does the hanging — hanging your new wallpaper, for example — is another kind of hanger. Be careful not to confuse these hangers with a hangar, which is a garage where airplanes are kept.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"The plane is now safely back in the hanger and the pilot is on his day off."
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
On the menu is uni pasta, hanger steak au poivre and a dry-aged burger with fries, which restaurant critic Bill Addison says doesn’t require any twists because “it’s simply a fantastic burger.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026
From her closet, she grabbed a men’s brown leather jacket that she kept on a hanger.
From Slate ● Nov. 15, 2025
Its included slimline coat hanger kept everything nice and tidy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
His hand went to his rapier, and he drew it from its hanger in one swift motion.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
The bridge closed in October 2022 because of defects in the hangers which link the suspension chains and the road.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
It reopened to vehicles four months later, but took until late 2024 to fix the hangers.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
A final option would be old wire hangers, but that could require a longer tail.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2026
He said the company used to put plastic hangers in those boxes to be used on retailers’ store racks.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026
I started to take off my coat and hang it up in the foyer closet, but that closet's full of hangers that rattle like madmen when you open the door, so I left it on.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
