hover
Americanverb (used without object)
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to hang fluttering or suspended in the air.
The helicopter hovered over the building.
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to keep lingering about; wait near at hand.
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to remain in an uncertain or irresolute state; waver.
to hover between life and death.
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Computers. to place a pointer over an area of a screen without clicking or tapping, as with a mouse or stylus.
Hover over the icon to reveal more information.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to hover.
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Computers. to place (a pointer) over an area of a screen without clicking or tapping.
noun
verb
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(intr) to remain suspended in one place
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(intr) (of certain birds, esp hawks) to remain in one place in the air by rapidly beating the wings
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(intr) to linger uncertainly in a nervous or solicitous way
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(intr) to be in a state of indecision
she was hovering between the two suitors
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(tr) computing to hold (the mouse pointer) over a defined area on a web page without clicking, in order to cause a menu, information box, etc to appear
noun
Related Words
See fly 2 .
Other Word Forms
- hoverer noun
- hoveringly adverb
Etymology
Origin of hover
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English hoveren, frequentative of hoven “to hover,” of obscure origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A month later, as temperatures hover around -1C, the supply remains severely disrupted.
From BBC
"I couldn't believe my ears," he recalls but, on close inspection, he realised a thin layer of smoke was hovering beneath the ceiling above the machine.
From BBC
While job growth has slowed and hiring has softened, layoffs remain limited and the unemployment rate has hovered around 4.4%.
From Barron's
Brussels will cover interest costs, expected to hover around three billion euros per year, through the EU budget.
From Barron's
“This woman, she is in a swirling mist. She is fading in and out, hovering between life and death. I see her grasping, begging—she doesn’t want to leave us. Wait!”
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
