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.

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

Jamie saw himself as the fresh young star and Roy as the aging, hanger-on standing in his way.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2023

But something about these “Clerks” characters — and he plays one of them: the taciturn store hanger-on known as Silent Bob — keeps pulling him back to the well.

From Washington Post • Sep. 8, 2022

She was with that whole Zach Powers crew, and not as a hanger-on either.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman