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
Synonym Usage
See fly 2 .
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hoversimple
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hoverssimple
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have hoveredperfect
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has hoveredperfect
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are hoveringprogressive
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am hoveringprogressive
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is hoveringprogressive
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have been hoveringperfect progressive
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has been hoveringperfect progressive
Past
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hoveredsimple
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had hoveredperfect
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was hoveringprogressive
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were hoveringprogressive
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had been hoveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hover
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English hoveren, frequentative of hoven “to hover,” of obscure origin
Explanation
A hover craft flies low over the ground or water — it hovers. Hover can also mean waver. Think of someone that can’t decide exactly where to land. To help remember the meaning of hover, think of it as containing the preposition over: things that hover hang over. A temperature can hover around forty degrees, a grade in a class can hover around a B.
Vocabulary lists containing hover
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Of Mice and Men"
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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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.
"The investigation confirmed that all suspicions and evidence raised by Hover Lab against Kim Soo-hyun were unfounded," said the statement, which also thanked the supporters who had stood by the actor.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
The trigger switches between flight modes: Hover and Cruise.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025
Firefighters asked people to avoid Hover Park as the fire headed in that direction.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 13, 2023
On another day, the paper flaunted the promise of “Aerial Queen Will Hover Above City” — that was Ruth Neely, the first woman to pilot a dirigible.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2023
“I had to use a Hover Charm to get you into your bunk, I couldn’t lift you. You’ve been...Well, you haven’t been quite...”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
