hang by a thread Definition

hang
verb hung (past tense, past participle), hanged (past tense, past participle in sense 3), hanging (present participle)

tr & intr
1. To fasten or be fastened from above, especially with the lower part free.

Thesaurus: suspend, dangle, drape, sag, droop, loll, sling; attach, stick, nail, hook.
tr & intr
2. Said of a door, etc: to fasten or be fastened with hinges so that it can move freely.
tr & intr
3. To suspend or be suspended by a rope or something similar around the neck until dead.

Thesaurus: lynch, execute, gibbet, string up.
4. To be suspended or hover, especially in the air or in a threatening way.

Example: The smell of paint hung in the air
Example: The fear of redundancy hung over me
Form: hang over (sometimes)
tr & intr
5. To droop or make something droop.

Example: hang one's head in shame
6. To fix (wallpaper) to a wall.
tr & intr
7. Said of a painting, etc: to place or be placed in an exhibition.
8. To decorate (a room, wall, etc) with pictures or other hangings.
tr & intr
9. colloq
To damn or be damned.
Example: Hang the expense
intr
10. Said of a piece of clothing: to sit in a specified way when worn.

Example: a coat which hangs well
11. To suspend game from a hook to allow it to decompose slightly and become more flavoursome.
12. To prevent (a jury) from reaching a verdict.
13. computing.
Said of a computer or a program: to stop functioning.

noun

1. The way something hangs, falls or droops.
2. colloq
A damn. See also hanging.
Example: I couldn't give a hang

Idiom: get the hang of something

colloq
To learn or begin to understand how to do it.

Idiom: hang a left (hang a right)

(S)
colloq
To turn left or right, especially when driving.

Idiom: hang by a thread

To depend upon very precarious conditions, a slim chance, etc.

Idiom: hang fire

To delay taking action.
Thesaurus: delay, procrastinate, stall, stop, vacillate, wait, hang back; Antonym: press on.

To cease to develop or progress.

Idiom: hang in the balance

To be uncertain or in doubt.

Idiom: hang loose

To do nothing.

To be relaxed and unperturbed by one's surroundings, etc.

Idiom: hang on in there

colloq
Keep trying; don't give up.

Idiom: hang one's head

To look ashamed or sheepish.

Idiom: hang on someone's lips (hang on someone's words)

To give close admiring attention to someone.

Idiom: let it all hang out

To be totally uninhibited and relaxed.

To act or speak freely.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon hangian.

Phrasal Verb: hang about or around

To waste time; to stand around doing nothing.To stay or remain.

Phrasal Verb: hang about or around with someone

To spend a lot of time in their company.

Phrasal Verb: hang back

To be unwilling or reluctant to do something.

Phrasal Verb: hang on

To wait.
Example: I'll hang on for a bit
To carry on bravely, in spite of problems or difficulties.

Phrasal Verb: hang on something

To depend on it.
Example: It all hangs on the weather
To listen closely to it
Example: hanging on her every word.

Phrasal Verb: hang something on someone

To blame them for it.

Phrasal Verb: hang on to something

To keep a hold or control of it.

Phrasal Verb: hang out

To lean or bend out (eg of a window, etc).Said of clothes: to hang up outside to dry.To frequent a place. See also hang-out.
Example: He hangs out in local bars

Phrasal Verb: hang something out

To hang up (washing) outside to dry.

Phrasal Verb: hang out for something

To insist on it and wait until one gets it.

Phrasal Verb: hang over someone

Said of an unresolved problem, decision, etc: to overshadow or threaten them.

Phrasal Verb: hang over something

To project over or lean out from it.

Phrasal Verb: hang together

Said of two people: to be united and support each other.Said of ideas, etc: to be consistent.

Phrasal Verb: hang up

To finish a telephone conversation by replacing the receiver.

Phrasal Verb: hang something up

To hang something on a hook, hanger, etc.

Info:

○ The normal past tense and past participle of the verb hang is hung &wbox; &wbox; &wbox;

○ When the verb refers to killing by hanging, the correct form of the past tense and past participle is hanged&wbox; &wbox; Hung is increasingly used in this sense also, but in formal English it is better to use hanged.

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thread
noun

1. A very thin strand of silk, cotton or wool, especially when several such strands are twisted together for sewing.
2. Any naturally formed, very thin strand of fibre, such as that forming a spider's web.

Thesaurus: strand, filament, fibre.
3. Anything like a thread in length and narrowness.
4. The projecting spiral ridge round a screw or bolt, or in a nut.
5. A continuous connecting element or theme in a story or argument, etc.

Example: I lost the thread of what he was saying
Thesaurus: storyline, motif, theme, plot, line, tenor, drift, direction, course.
6. A thin seam or vein of ore or coal.

verb threaded, threading

1. To pass a thread through (eg the eye of a needle).
2. To pass (tape or film, etc) into or through something to put it into its correct position.
3. To string something on a thread or length of string.
tr & intr
4. To make (one's way) carefully (through eg narrow streets or crowded areas).

Thesaurus: string, weave, wind, meander, pass, inch, ease.
5. To streak (hair or the sky, etc) with narrow patches of a different colour.
6. To provide (eg a bolt) with a screw thread.

Idiom: hang by a thread

To be in a very precarious or dangerous state or position.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon.