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lingering

  • present participle
    of linger.
    linger
    verb (used without object)
    to remain or stay on in a place longer than is usual or expected, as if from reluctance to leave.
  • a word derived from linger.
    linger
    verb (used without object)
    to remain or stay on in a place longer than is usual or expected, as if from reluctance to leave.

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.

See Examples For:

If you can’t fit on the one waiting in the docking area when you deplane, you’re stuck lingering for ages—a half hour or more, in some cases—until the next one arrives.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

On any given Friday night, the restaurants around me are full of twenty-somethings lingering over drinks long after they’ve paid the check.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Although Ohtani hasn’t landed on the injured list for lingering inflammation and soreness in his left knee, he hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Any lingering hope disappeared entirely a couple of balls later when Walter - who made 44 not out off 28 balls - twice hammered Abrar for six down the ground.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

It was that weekend too at one of our lingering departure scenes that I learned where he'd gotten his odd, ornate name.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez