hanger-on
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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When Thoreau set out for his first of his three chronicled trips to Cape Cod in 1849, he was a virtually unknown hanger-on to America’s foremost public intellectual, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Mulligan plays Pamela, a quirky hanger-on of the Catton family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
In “The Bear,” Matty Matheson, the Canadian chef and restaurateur, plays the hanger-on and handyman Neil, his first scripted role.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
Jamie saw himself as the fresh young star and Roy as the aging, hanger-on standing in his way.
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2023
She was with that whole Zach Powers crew, and not as a hanger-on either.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
The last of them, these spent survivors, these hangers-on, had trudged to the Citrus Show to talk about the real problem, which was the disease.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
Everyone acted up: secretaries, senior partners, mailroom clerks, hangers-on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Think backward: Where things begin is the bitter end, at a glitzy Hollywood Hills party in 1976 full of showbiz hangers-on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
The music fades and we, the hangers-on, disperse.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
Despite my father’s best efforts, we didn’t manage to shake all the hangers-on.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
