hover

American  

[huhv-er, hov-] / ˈhʌv ər, ˈhɒv- /

verb (used without object)

• hovers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hovered,
  past participle,  past
• hovering
  present participle

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.

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verb (used with object)

• hovers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hovered,
  past participle,  past
• hovering
  present participle

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 British  

/ 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

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noun

1. the act of hovering

Synonym Usage

See fly ² .

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hoverer
  noun
• hoveringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• hovering
  present
• hovered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hover
  simple
• hovers
  simple
• have hovered
  perfect
• has hovered
  perfect
• am hovering
  progressive
• are hovering
  progressive
• is hovering
  progressive
• have been hovering
  perfect progressive
• has been hovering
  perfect progressive

Past

• hovered
  simple
• had hovered
  perfect
• was hovering
  progressive
• were hovering
  progressive
• had been hovering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hover
  simple
• will have hovered
  perfect
• will be hovering
  progressive
• will have been hovering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of hover

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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hover hovers hovered hovering

Buying a Roadster that can actually hover in the air requires an invitation from Tesla, according to its website.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

On top of that, your level of trust in anything created by Mark Zuckerberg should constantly hover in the 0-to-4 range out of 10.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

Yet, as Lucas is a legendary lug nut, these hover cars and spaceships whisk you full speed into his creative process.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

While many anglers will gently hover and twitch the urchin as a finesse-style bait, the young bass phenom and former Journal subject Dylan Quilatan has been fishing the urchin with a more aggressive approach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

My hands hover around my ears, in case it’s too much, but when everybody plays just right, the sound is nice.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

He is fixed on the live stream as a Ukrainian snare swoops in, hovers for a few seconds and drops a net on to the drone, dragging it from the sky.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Voter turnout in the U.S. hovers around 60 percent in presidential elections and closer to 40 percent in midterms.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

The median U.S. home price now hovers around five times the median income; historically, that ratio has been closer to 3 to 1.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Companies collect vast amounts of data about consumers, including browsing history, location, device type, purchase patterns, and even how long a cursor hovers over a product.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Shimmering green mist hovers in the air around him.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

But, in 2025, UnitedHealth’s medical-cost ratio hovered about 90% for three out of four quarters, an unwelcome increase for investors.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

However, the unheated pool in Staten Island instead felt bone-chilling in the early May temperatures, which hovered at a low 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Now a project manager in a housing association and living in Worcester, she earns £72,000 and says her student loan balance has hovered at about £47,000 for a number of years.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Brent crude on Wednesday hovered above $100 a barrel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

My finger hovered in front of the start button.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

The Romanian interior ministry has released a video showing one of the helicopters hovering above the vessel.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

One of Musk’s key promises is that the Roadster will be capable of hovering in the air.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

If you’ve been hovering over that “subscribe to Slate Plus” button, now is the time to join.

From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026

The average fixed 30-year mortgage rate in the U.S. was 7.52%, hovering around three-year highs, according to Bankrate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

We glance down the hallway where we see all the head administrators hovering around the gym doors.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

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Related Words

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

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