Hanger-on

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Someone who hangs on, or sticks to, a person, place, or service.

    "Her love was sought, I do aver, / By twenty beaux and more; / The king himself has follow'd her / When she has walk'd before. / But now her wealth and finery fled, / Her hangers-on cut short all […]"

  2. 2
    someone who persistently (and annoyingly) follows along wordnet
  3. 3
    An onsetter. historical

Synonyms

All synonyms
adherentappendageapple polisherass-lickerattendantbarnacle

Example

More examples

"Her love was sought, I do aver, / By twenty beaux and more; / The king himself has follow'd her / When she has walk'd before. / But now her wealth and finery fled, / Her hangers-on cut short all […]"

Etymology

Agent noun of hang on.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.