"Do you wanna hang out this weekend?" "Nah, I'm just gonna hang out at home tonight."
"One of the most popular, culturally significant, but almost impossible to translate slang expressions in the English language: Hang Out." -- reallifeglobal.com.
The website goes on to note that "hanging out" is one of those multipurpose phrases that often confuses those new to the English language. Examples of its varied use include:
Animals have an instinctive ability to "hang out." "Do you wanna hang out this weekend?" (do something together socially, verb)
"I'm just gonna hang out at home tonight." (relax by myself, verb)
"I used to hang out a lot at that park when I was a kid." (to frequent a place, verb)
"Can you just hang out for a second while I get ready?" (wait in a relaxed way, verb)
"I'm tired of spending my time at (place). I need a new hangout. (noun)
I personally would define "hanging out" as a situation involving more than one person where the act of doing nothing becomes the focus of the gathering.
Here's a gallery of people "hanging out" in New Jersey. And, here are links to similar galleries.
Vintage photos of people 'hangin' out' in N.J.
Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.