Hanger

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Hanger

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun

Pronunciation

HANG-uh  /ˈhæŋə/

Definition

A shaped frame — typically of wire, wood, or plastic — used to hang clothes from a rail or hook; a person or thing that hangs something; a steep wooded slope.

Plain meaning

A hanger is the shaped frame you hang your coat or shirt on in the wardrobe — the hook-and-bar device that keeps clothes in shape. Not to be confused with hangar (where aircraft are kept).

Register

Neutral and everyday in the clothes hanger sense. The topographic hanger (a steep wooded slope) is regional and literary. The confusion with hangar is one of the most common spelling errors in English.