hang out1
1(Of washing) hang from a clothes line to dry: the inhabitants fled with such haste that their washing is still hanging out...
- Clean clothes were hanging out on washing lines in the gardens of houses.
- They all provide shade, permit natural ventilation, and conceal air conditioning and washing hung out to dry.
- I caught glimpses of the atriums those passageways opened onto, often with gardens, maybe statues, washing hanging out to dry.
2Protrude and hang loosely downwards: chaps in jeans with their shirts hanging out...
- He wore a light grey shirt, loosely hanging out and a pair of dark denim jeans.
- He stood there, shirt hanging out, one hand holding a fag, the other sweeping the air as he described the fall of each wicket.
- One day, it got stuck to my back and was hanging out the top of my pants.
2.1 (hang out of) Lean out of: he was found after the collision hanging out of the defendant’s car...
- Scores of office workers hung out of windows to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister as he arrived.
- Soldiers with automatic rifles hung out of the windows waving us angrily aside.
- Cathy hangs out of one of the car's blackened windows and waves graciously.
3 informal Spend time relaxing or enjoying oneself: musicians hang out with their own kind...
- We're going spend two days just relaxing and hanging out in quiet and privacy.
- Then again, what you really should be doing is hanging out outside and enjoying the weather.
- With the Easter holidays just underway, school children are looking forward to two weeks of late morning lie-ins and afternoons spent hanging out with their friends.
Synonyms
associate, mix, go around, keep company, spend time, mingle, socialize, fraternize, consort, rub shoulders;
North American rub elbows
informal hang around, run around, knock about/around, be thick, hobnob
British informal hang about
4Australian /NZ Resist or survive in difficult circumstances; hold out.Okay, Ill hang it out for a while but if this goes on much longer Im out of here...
- If you love him and he treats you right when your together, hang it out a bit longer.
4.1 (hang out for) Desire strongly; crave.But that's small change compared to former CEO Paul Batchelor, who's rumoured to be hanging out for $20 million....
- There's an invitation I've been hanging out for.
- No, it's the post-operative recovery that I'm hanging out for.
See parent entry: hang
hang-out2 
noun informal
A place one lives in or frequently visits: a club notorious in the area as a hang-out for the criminally inclined...
- In an effort to reach out to such youngsters, in 1994 members of the committee took the initiative to pay frequent visits to teen hang-outs.
- The idea was to create a juke box for all kinds of convivial settings-from parties in parks to hang-outs on college campuses.
- Shopping areas, schools and colleges, hang-outs and eateries may be mushrooming but where is the space to park?
Synonyms
haunt, stamping ground, favourite spot, meeting place, territory, domain, purlieu, resort;
den, nook, nest, refuge, retreat, hideout
informal hidey-hole
British informal local, patch, manor