Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hang over someone's head

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.11 in modern English

Syllables: hang over -some-one's -head
IPA

33

Scrabble Score

20

Letters

4

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To threaten (someone); to act as a constant preoccupation for (someone).

Example Sentences

"Lord Justice Roskill delivered the decision of the three justices, upholding the fines against the paper and editor Lemon. The justices also granted court costs to anti-gay crusader Mary Whitehouse, the person who brought the suit against the paper. A prison sentence hanging over Lemon's head was dismissed."
"So Congress enacted a statute, the net effect of which is to hinge the freedom to speak on the speaker’s willingness to run the gauntlet of post hoc value assessments by prosecutors and juries with a five year felony sentence hanging over his head."

Inflected Forms

hangs over someone's head (present, singular) hanging over someone's head (participle, present) hung over someone's head (participle, past) hung over someone's head (past)

Questions

What does hang over someone's head mean?: To threaten (someone); to act as a constant preoccupation for (someone).

How to pronounce hang over someone's head

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