To depend entirely on something, or to listen/watch with great intensity.
To need something completely, or to pay very close attention to something.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To depend entirely on something; to be decided by a single factor.
"The fate of the entire company hangs upon this one contract."
Much hangs upon the outcome of the vote.
— The Economist (general usage, formal press)
To listen to or watch someone with intense concentration and admiration.
"The students hung upon their professor's every word."
And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, / That one small head could carry all he knew. / The village all declared how much he knew; / 'Twas certain he could write and cipher too; / ... and words of learned length and thundering sound / Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around; / And still they hang upon his words with open mouth.
— Oliver Goldsmith, 'The Deserted Village', 1770 (paraphrase of the original passage; exact line: concept of 'hanging upon words' is widely attributed to Goldsmith and similar Romantic-era writers)
To be suspended from or attached to something above.
To need something completely, or to pay very close attention to something.
Largely literary or archaic in modern English. More common in older texts and formal writing. The sense of 'listening intently' is most often found in the phrase 'hang upon someone's every word/lips'.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "hang upon" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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