hang on by a thread
hang on by a thread is the alternative form of hang by a thread.
Meaning of hang by a thread
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
- Synonyms:
- hang by a hair
Forms of hang on by a thread
| third-person singular present | hangs on by a thread |
|---|---|
| present participle | hanging on by a thread |
| past participle | hung on by a thread |
| past | hung on by a thread |
Questions about hang on by a thread
- What is hang on by a thread the alternative form of?
- Hang on by a thread is the alternative form of hang by a thread.
Words near hang on by a thread in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hang on by a thread (page history and authors); 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:
Cite this entry: “hang on by a thread.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hang_on_by_a_thread. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.