hanging up

Verb

hang up (third-person singular simple present hangs up, present participle hanging up, simple past and past participle hung up)

1. (idiomatic, transitive) To put up to hang.
   • I hung up my wash on the line.
2. (ambitransitive, idiomatic) To terminate a telephone call, originally by hanging the receiver on its hook or cradle thereby automatically disconnecting the line.
   • When my mother started telling me to be careful over the phone, I threatened to hang up on her.

   Synonyms:

   ring off

   Antonyms:

   pick up the phone

3. (figuratively, idiomatic, intransitive) To stop talking.
4. (colloquial, idiomatic, transitive) To keep delayed, suspended, held up, or stuck.
   • Seeing you's all I've been thinking about. You know I wouldn't hang you up this way if it wasn't for a damned good reason.1986, Charlotte Vale Allen, Time/Steps, page 396
5. (idiomatic) To rob or mug (someone).
6. (idiomatic) To arrest (someone); to send (someone) to prison.
   • So call up Trudy on the telephone / Send her a letter in the mail / Tell her I'm hung up in Dallas / They won't let me out of this jail1971, Charlie Daniels, “Trudy”, in Charlie Daniels

See all 8 meanings of hang up