cursor
Americannoun
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Digital Technology. a movable, sometimes blinking, marker that indicates the position on a display screen where the next character entered from the keyboard will appear, or where user action is possible.
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a sliding object, as the lined glass on a slide rule, that can be set at any point on a scale.
noun
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the sliding part of a measuring instrument, esp a transparent sliding square on a slide rule
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any of various means, typically a flashing bar or underline, of identifying a particular position on a computer screen, such as the insertion point for text
Etymology
Origin of cursor
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English in the earlier sense “runner, courier,” from Latin: literally, “runner, runner in a race, messenger, footman,” equivalent to cur(rere) “to run” + -sor, variant of -tor; cursor def. 2 was first recorded in 1590–1600 and cursor def. 1 in 1965–70; see origin at course, -tor
Vocabulary lists containing cursor
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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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.
Companies collect vast amounts of data about consumers already, including browsing history, location, device type, purchase patterns, even how long your cursor hovers over a product.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
In trials, patients have demonstrated thought-controlled cursor navigation and robotic arm manipulation -- genuine breakthroughs, although ethicists and regulators have raised questions about privacy and long-term safety.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
In the late 1990s, neurologist Philip Kennedy developed the first BCI to allow a severely paralyzed patient to move a computer cursor using their brain.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 2026
A paralyzed Arizona man became the first human to receive the implant in January and has since moved a cursor, browsed the internet and played video games with this thoughts.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2024
Natalie let the cursor hover over the list of cities.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
