# hangover

/ˈhæˌŋoʊvɝ/ (US) · /hˈæŋɡəʊvɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hangover
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. after drinking alcohol

noun · CEFR B2

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

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

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

### 3. historical sleeping rope

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · British English

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

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

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

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

## Examples

- He has a terrible hangover after the party.
- She drank plenty of water before bed to try and avoid a hangover the next morning.
- The protagonist spends the first three chapters nursing a massive hangover, which serves as a physical manifestation of his regret over the previous night's poor decisions.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.