dangle
/ˈdæŋ.ɡəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.92 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
The action of performing a move or deke with the puck in order to get past a defender or goalie; perhaps because of the resemblance to dangling the puck on a string.
Intransitive verb; Slang
verb
Of a patient: to be positioned with the legs hanging over the edge of the bed.
Intransitive verb
noun
An agent of one intelligence agency or group who pretends to be interested in defecting or turning to another intelligence agency or group.
Example Sentences
- "His feet are dangling in the water."
- "He'd rather on a gibbet dangle / Than miss his dear delight, to wrangle."
- "From her lifted hand / Dangled a length of ribbon."
- "Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth."
- "He dangled around three players and the goalie to score."
- "I like to sit on the edge and dangle my feet in the water."
Etymology
Uncertain, but likely of North Germanic origin, akin to Danish dingle, dangle, Swedish dangla (“to swing about”), Norwegian dangla, perhaps via North Frisian dangeln; all possibly related to Old Norse dengja (“to hit”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, dangeln, dengja