hover

[ huhv-er, hov- ]

verb (used without object)

1. to hang fluttering or suspended in the air:

   The helicopter hovered over the building.

2. to keep lingering about; wait near at hand.
3. to remain in an uncertain or irresolute state; waver:

   to hover between life and death.

   Synonyms: fluctuate, pause, falter

4. 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)

1. to cause to hover.
2. Computers. to place (a pointer) over an area of a screen without clicking or tapping.

noun

1. the act or state of hovering.

hover

/ ˈhɒvə /

verb

1. intr to remain suspended in one place
2. intr (of certain birds, esp hawks) to remain in one place in the air by rapidly beating the wings
3. intr to linger uncertainly in a nervous or solicitous way
4. intr to be in a state of indecision

   she was hovering between the two suitors

5. 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

1. the act of hovering

Derived Forms

• ˈhoveringly, adverb
• ˈhoverer, noun

Other Words From

• hover·er noun
• hover·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of hover¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English hoveren, frequentative of hoven “to hover,” of obscure origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of hover¹

C14: hoveren, variant of hoven, of obscure origin

Synonym Study

See fly ²none.

Example Sentences

What if we could somehow hover over this planet?

From Salon

They can walk, hover and the males can even sing love songs to woo mates - all this with a brain that’s tinier than a pinhead.

From BBC

But West Bengal transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty told the media: “The population and vehicular count of Kolkata have multiplied several times but the city’s roads have not widened. Road space continues to hover around 6% which is way less than Mumbai’s 18% and Delhi’s 10%.”

From BBC

Scrutinize URLs: Before clicking on links, hover over them to check the full URL.

From Salon

Profit margins for supermarkets and other food retailers are quite low and typically hover below 3%.

From Salon

Related Words

• drift
• flicker
• flutter
• fly
• linger
• poise
• waver