: to hang loosely and usually so as to be able to swing freely
2
: to be a hanger-on or a dependent
3
: to occur in a sentence without having a normally expected syntactic relation to the rest of the sentence (such as climbing in "Climbing the mountain the cabin came into view")
Verb Let your arms dangle at your sides. She sat on the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water. He dangled a piece of string in front of the cat. The money she dangled in front of him wasn't enough to convince him to sell. They refused to accept the money that was dangled before their eyes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Wisps of hair have been left to dangle instead of being pulled back. Eric Gibson, WSJ, 26 Aug. 2022 When his hands smashed down into a vicious two-handed dunk a second later, his momentum pulled his body into a full-on swing, leaving the forward to dangle on the rim for a moment as the Bulls bench flexed and shouted behind him. Julia Poe, chicagotribune.com, 20 Nov. 2021 These giants should dangle the prospect of higher profits and industry expertise before key suppliers. Marc Levinson, WSJ, 28 July 2022 The three chandeliers dangle from a tongue-and-groove ceiling and are seen fronting the tall brick fireplace wall.oregonlive, 27 July 2022 But the schools dangle plenty of benefits for the Big Ten, including a robust presence in the nation’s second-largest television market and even smoother access to one of its richest recruiting bases.New York Times, 30 June 2022 African wild dogs dangle from an outlying twig on the dog family tree, having separated from other canids some six million years ago and evolved in eccentric independence ever since.New York Times, 20 June 2022 And some of the card issuers that serve up cash-back offers on streaming services also dangle the occasional rebate to use their cards for a wireless or broadband bill. Rob Pegoraro, USA TODAY, 15 June 2022 So are Aysoy’s new necklaces that feature varying cuts of colored gemstones, along with her Tahitian black pearl Catena necklace,which sparkles with tiny pendant diamonds that dangle at different levels of the chain. Kyle Roderick, Forbes, 9 June 2022
Noun
Strands of electrical lighting dangle from the ceilings and sheets of translucent plastic are still attached to the walls – the sheets enabled the mushroom growers to create just the right temperature and humidity for the cultivation of fungi. Nick Squires, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Jan. 2022 That's a fine carrot-dangle for fun secrets, but earning skulls by beating side quests seems more fun to me. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 6 Dec. 2021 Kenneth Choi and Ethan Suplee dangle Jon Spinogatti from a building for The Wolf of Wall Street. Vulture Editors, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2021 Cathy Waterman has created a rustic yet elegant alternative to the traditional diamond dangle. Beth Bernstein, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021 My final dangle over the desert floor felt almost casual. Edmund Vallance, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2021 But while admitting this much, Mr. Manafort — seeing the dangle of a potential pardon from Mr. Trump — refused to cooperate further. Charlie Savage, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2020 White rosary beads Garza threads through her fingers when there’s a need for prayer dangle at the ready on a shelf behind her sewing machine. Vincent T. Davis, ExpressNews.com, 2 Mar. 2020 For the sparkly occasion, the went for an sequined one-shoulder version with a contrasting fuschia belt and accessorized with massive heart dangles. Kelsey Stiegman, Seventeen, 2 Jan. 2020 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish dangle to dangle