hang on a minute

Register · Informal Informal — used in casual, everyday conversation among friends and family. Avoid in formal writing or professional settings. CEFR A2

Post

Figurative meaning

used to ask someone to wait, or to express surprise or objection

Why this phrase?

'Hang on' means 'wait', not to physically hang from something.

Example

“Hang on a minute — that's not what we agreed!”

Dictionary details

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

buy time Neutral · CEFR B2

to create a delay that provides extra time to prepare or decide

better late than never Neutral · CEFR A2

Doing something after a delay is better than not doing it at all.

bright and early Neutral · CEFR A2

at the very start of the morning

early bird Neutral · CEFR A2

someone who prefers beginning the day before most other people

keep an eye on Neutral · CEFR A2

to watch or look after someone or something carefully, often to make sure nothing goes wrong

so far so good Informal · CEFR A2

used to say that things have gone well up to now

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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