hang one's hat

verb

To reside; to call a place home.

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Meanings

verbhang one's hat (third-person singular simple present hangs one's hat, present participle hanging one's hat, simple past and past participle hung one's hat)

present singular third person hangs one's hat · participle present hanging one's hat · participle past hung one's hat · past hung one's hat

  1. USidiomaticTo reside; to call a place home.

    But all my ex’s live in Texas And that’s why I hang my hat in Tennessee

    1987 April, Sanger and Linda Shafer (authors), George Strait (singer), “All My Ex’s Live in Texas”, MCA Records
    1 more example

    “Where does Hobart hang his hat?” Slocum asked. “His spread's up north, east of the Chugwater, and maybe north some.”

    2003, Jake Logan, chapter 10, in Slocum and the Undertakers, →ISBN
  2. broadlyTo identify with; to be.

    I try not to make simplistic judgements on people these days. Especially over matters as trivial as where they hang their sexual hat.

    2009, Michael Marshall, Bad Things, →ISBN, page 252
Cite this entry
APA

hang one's hat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hang%20one's%20hat

MLA

“hang one's hat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hang%20one's%20hat. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hang one's hat,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hang%20one's%20hat.

Source: hang one's hat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.