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
Most of his close friends work in music, including Kenny Beats, who composed Oliver’s songs for “Lurker,” and Zack Fox, who plays a hanger-on in the film and is a DJ in real life.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 21, 2025
Moussaoui “was trying to write a role for himself into history,” Mr. MacMahon said, “when the truth is, he was an al-Qaeda hanger-on and a nuisance to everybody.”
From Washington Post • Mar. 29, 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
