hover

[huhv-er, hov-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hover ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to hang fluttering or suspended in the air: The helicopter hovered over the building.

to keep lingering about; wait near at hand.

to remain in an uncertain or irresolute state; waver: to hover between life and death.

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)

to cause to hover.

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

noun

the act or state of hovering.

Origin of hover

1350–1400; Middle English hoveren, frequentative of hoven to hover, of obscure origin

Related formshov·er·er, nounhov·er·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms for hover

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hover ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See fly¹. 3. falter, pause, fluctuate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hover

fly, linger, flicker, drift, poise, waver, flutter, dance, flit, flitter

Examples from the Web for hover

Contemporary Examples of hover

Special suits allow you and your team to hover over gaps and jump to superhuman heights.
Kevin Spacey Stars as a Frank Underwood-like Warmonger in ‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’
Alec Kubas-Meyer
November 8, 2014
INTERACTIVE: Hover over markers for more from each range on their age and firearm restrictions for children.
Where Kids as Young as 5 Learn to Shoot Automatic Weapons
Brandy Zadrozny
September 10, 2014
Not to mention the untold number of families who hover just one medical crisis or job loss away from financial ruin.
Is There a Ma Joad for the Piketty Era?
Katie Baker
July 1, 2014
His approval ratings, improbably, hover around the 40 percent mark.
How Rob Ford Could Win Reelection
Ivor Tossell
January 3, 2014
But whispers about his past hover like a threatening storm over his papacy.
Argentina’s Dirty War Casts a Pall Over Bergoglio
Christopher Dickey
March 15, 2013

Historical Examples of hover

That hover o'er the meeting-halls, Where many a voice stentorian bawls!
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
Anthony would not come and hover silently at my bedside in the middle of the night.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
Corrected misprints are noted by hover information in the text.
Washington's Masonic Correspondence
Julius F. Sachse
After seeming to hover for a time on the verge of a great truth, we have gained only a truism.
Philebus
Plato
I hover over my racked body like a ghost, and exist in an interregnum.
Dreamers of the Ghetto
I. Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for hover

hover

verb

(intr) to remain suspended in one place

(intr) (of certain birds, esp hawks) to remain in one place in the air by rapidly beating the wings

(intr) to linger uncertainly in a nervous or solicitous way

(intr) to be in a state of indecisionshe was hovering between the two suitors

(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

the act of hovering

Derived Formshoverer, nounhoveringly, adverb

Word Origin for hover

C14: hoveren, variant of hoven, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hover

c.1400, hoveren, frequentative of hoven "hover, tarry, linger;" see hove (1). Related: Hovered; hovering. As a noun from 1510s.