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

Other Word Forms

• hoverer noun
• hoveringly 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 ² .

Example Sentences

The number of people already collecting unemployment checks, meanwhile, likely hovered around a four-year high of 1.93 million near the end of September.

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Elevated mortgage rates and prices that continue to hover around all-time highs have priced out many would-be buyers.

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Kuiper is pushing to sell future capacity on its own network, expected to hover around 3,200 satellites when it is built out.

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That share had been hovering around 20% for most of the past three years.

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Despite the turnaround, major question marks still hover over Nvidia’s future in China.

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Related Words

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