English Reference
noun

hangover

n.
US /ˈhæˌŋoʊvɝ/ UK /hˈæŋɡəʊvɐ/ hang·over UK spelling hangover's, hangover's

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate

    the headache and sick feeling you get the day after you drink too much alcohol.

    the unpleasant physical effects, such as headache and nausea, following the excessive consumption of alcohol.

    Simple

    He woke up with a terrible hangover and promised never to drink that much again.

    In context

    After the wedding celebrations, several guests appeared at breakfast nursing hangovers and requesting strong coffee.

    Usage

    Often used with the verbs 'have', 'nurse', or 'suffer from'.

    after effects
  2. 02 C2 Proficiency ArchaicBritish English

    a very old type of bed in a shelter where people slept by leaning over a rope.

    a historical sleeping arrangement in nineteenth-century homeless shelters where occupants slept sitting up, supported by a tensioned rope.

    Simple

    In the old days, the poorest people paid a few pennies for a hangover in a crowded room.

    In context

    Social reformers of the Victorian era documented the 'two-penny hangover' as one of the most undignified forms of shelter available to the urban poor.

    Teacher's tip

    This sense is archaic and rarely understood by modern speakers outside of a historical context.

    two penny hangover

Consumers can enjoy the closest thing to beer or wine without alcohol, so they don't need to worry about taxi fares or hangovers.

Phys.org· 4 Sept 2026

He says it gives him the effects of alcohol without the hangover.

BBC News· 18 Aug 2026

American English; hang + over. First sense was first attested in 1904. Second sense was first attested in 1894.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated