hang by a thread
hang by a thread verb: to be in danger, calling for precise caution; to be in a precarious situation.
Verb
hang by a thread (third-person singular simple present hangs by a thread, present participle hanging by a thread, simple past and past participle hung by a thread)
- To be in danger, calling for precise caution; to be in a precarious situation.
- A giant section of an Antarctic ice shelf is hanging by a thread and could break off at any moment, researchers have revealed.2017 June 2, Nicola Davis, “Giant Antarctic iceberg 'hanging by a thread', say scientists”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 16 Feb 2018
- Life in the SCP universe continually hangs by a thread, threatened constantly by the existence of a number of dangerous and apocalyptic anomalies. These threats are countered and contained by the existence of organizations such as the SCP Foundation or the Global Occult Coalition.2019 January 14, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: SCP-2935 - O, Death” (0:07 from the start), in The Exploring Series, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2023
- Synonyms:
- hang by a hair
hang by a thread meaning in Thai
hang by a thread in Thai
- to be in a precarious situation
- แขวนบนเส้นด้าย kwăen bon sâynádâai
Synonyms of hang by a thread
Forms of hang by a thread
| third-person singular present | hangs by a thread |
|---|---|
| present participle | hanging by a thread |
| past participle | hung by a thread |
| past | hung by a thread |
| alternative form | hang on by a thread |
Origin of hang by a thread
An allusion to the anecdotal sword of Damocles, which was suspended by a hair.
Questions about hang by a thread
- What does hang by a thread mean?
- Hang by a thread means to be in danger, calling for precise caution; to be in a precarious situation.
- What is hang by a thread in Thai?
- Hang by a thread in Thai is แขวนบนเส้นด้าย (kwăen bon sâynádâai). See Hang by a thread meaning in Thai.
- What part of speech is hang by a thread?
- Hang by a thread is a verb.
- What is the past tense of hang by a thread?
- The past tense of hang by a thread is hung by a thread.
Words near hang by a thread in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hang by a thread (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-hang by a thread.ogg.
Cite this entry: “hang by a thread.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hang_by_a_thread. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.