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

Gala was the free-spirit hanger-on in the city’s club scene, falling for a rock singer and happily dishing about her Southern California misadventures.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2025

In “The Bear,” Matty Matheson, the Canadian chef and restaurateur, plays the hanger-on and handyman Neil, his first scripted role.

From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2023

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

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

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman