Standard Lemma guide

hanger-on

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An onsetter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

Topics: business, mining

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

someone who persistently (and annoyingly) follows along

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tagalong

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: follower

History

Etymology

Agent noun of hang on.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: натрапник (natrapnik) — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Cebuano: kuyog baboy — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Chinese Mandarin: 客 (kè) — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Dutch: klit — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • French: crampon — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • German: Trabant — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Irish: angarúinneach — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Irish: baoiteálaí — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Irish: gabhgaire — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Irish: líodrálaí — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Irish: sáilghiolla — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Irish: táthaire — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Italian: tirapiedi — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Italian: ruffiano — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Italian: scagnozzo — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Japanese: 取り巻き (torimaki) — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Korean: 행거온 (haenggeoon) — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Latin: assecula — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Norwegian: påheng — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Persian: سوری (suri) — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Polish: pochlebca — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Polish: pochlebczyni — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Russian: нахле́бник (naxlébnik) — Someone who hangs on, or sticks
  • Spanish: acoplado — Someone who hangs on, or sticks