hang by a thread
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
In a highly precarious situation.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
It came as the parents of 12-year - old victim Timothy Parry — hanging on to life by a thread in a Liverpool hospital came to terms with the fact that he is unlikely to survive.
Contemplative life belongs to those who not only have a keen awareness that life in the world hangs by a thread, but a sense that their own identity and reality does not inhere fundamentally in physical things.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “hang by a thread” mean?
In a highly precarious situation.
Is “hang by a thread” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.