linger
Americanverb (used without object)
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to remain or stay on in a place longer than is usual or expected, as if from reluctance to leave.
We lingered awhile after the party.
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to remain alive; continue or persist, although gradually dying, ceasing, disappearing, etc..
She lingered a few months after the heart attack. Such practices still linger among the older natives.
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to dwell in contemplation, thought, or enjoyment.
to linger over the beauty of a painting.
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to be tardy in action; delay; dawdle.
to linger in discharging one's duties.
- Synonyms:
- tarry
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to walk slowly; saunter along.
- Synonyms:
- loiter
verb (used with object)
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to pass (time, life, etc.) in a leisurely or a tedious manner (usually followed by away orout ).
We lingered away the whole summer at the beach.
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Archaic. to draw out or protract.
verb
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to delay or prolong departure
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to go in a slow or leisurely manner; saunter
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to remain just alive for some time prior to death
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to persist or continue, esp in the mind
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to be slow to act; dither; procrastinate
Other Word Forms
- lingerer noun
- lingering adjective
- lingeringly adverb
- outlinger verb (used with object)
- overlinger verb (used without object)
- unlingering adjective
Etymology
Origin of linger
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English lengeren “to dwell, remain,” literally, “to delay repeatedly,” from lengen, Old English lengan “to delay, lengthen, prolong”; long 1, -er 6
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.
Yet one key question has lingered for years.
From Science Daily
Doncic had played only five minutes Sunday for Team World in the All-Star Game because of a lingering left hamstring strain.
From Los Angeles Times
Even as companies contend with tariffs and lingering economic uncertainty, industry leaders say they are better positioned than they were a year ago.
Much of the extra crude hasn’t built up in storage hubs tied to benchmark pricing but instead as sanctioned crude lingering at sea, with tankers loaded with Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan barrels swelling inventories afloat.
In 2025, the Philippine economy grew at its weakest pace in five years, reflecting the impact of the controversy, trade uncertainty and lingering structural issues.
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.
