Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense hovers, present participle hovering, past tense, past participle hovered
1. verb
To hover means to stay in the same position in the air without moving forwards or backwards. Many birds and insects can hover by moving their wings very quickly.
Beautiful butterflies hovered above the wild flowers. [VERB]
A police helicopter hovered overhead. [VERB]
Mist hovered in all the valleys. [VERB]
Synonyms: float, fly, hang, drift More Synonyms of hover
2. verb
If you hover, you stay in one place and move slightly in a nervous way, for example because you cannot decide what to do.
Judith was hovering in the doorway. [VERB]
With no idea of what to do for my next move, my hand hovered over the board. [VERB preposition/adverb]
Synonyms: linger, loiter, wait nearby, hang about or around [informal] More Synonyms of hover
3. verb
If you hover, you are in an uncertain situation or state of mind.
She hovered on the brink of death for three months as doctors battled to save her. [VERB preposition/adverb]
Just as at the turn of the century, we hover between great hopes and great fears. [VERB preposition/adverb]
Synonyms: waver, alternate, fluctuate, haver [British] More Synonyms of hover
4. verb
If a something such as a price, value, or score hovers around a particular level, it stays at more or less that level and does not change much.
Temperatures hovered around freezing. [VERB preposition/adverb]
His golf handicap hovered between 10 and 12. [VERB preposition/adverb]
hover in British English
(ˈhɒvə)
verb
1. (intransitive)
to remain suspended in one place
2. (intransitive)
(of certain birds, esp hawks) to remain in one place in the air by rapidly beating the wings
3. (intransitive)
to linger uncertainly in a nervous or solicitous way
4. (intransitive)
to be in a state of indecision
she was hovering between the two suitors
5. (transitive) 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
6.
the act of hovering
Derived forms
hoverer (ˈhoverer)
noun
hoveringly (ˈhoveringly)
adverb
Word origin
C14: hoveren, variant of hoven, of obscure origin
hover in American English
(ˈhʌvər; ˈhɑvər)
verb intransitive
1.
to stay suspended or flutter in the air near one place
2.
to linger or wait close by, esp. in an overprotective, insistent, or anxious way
3.
to be in an uncertain condition; waver (between)
noun
4.
the act of hovering
Derived forms
hoverer (ˈhoverer)
noun
Word origin
ME hoveren, freq. of hoven, to stay (suspended)
Examples of 'hover' in a sentence
hover
Despite its global popularity, mixed martial arts still hovers on the fringes of sport here.
The Sun (2016)
Meanwhile, the mother eagle hovers ominously above.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He said it had been hovering above his sunbathing teenage daughter.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
They just hover around not giving a f*** about anything.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It reaches you through the glass swimming pool hovering off to one side above you.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
His publicist and a couple of assistants are hovering in the background.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The temperature hovered between boiling and baking.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Deep pink lotus flowers seemed to hover above a silken surface.
Hyland, Paul Indian Balm - Travels in the Southern Subcontinent (1994)
Always hovering in the background is the subject of men.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Often the atmosphere is filled with the persistent and noisy chopping of an army helicopter hovering above some potential trouble spot.
Davey, Ray Rev. & Cole, John A Channel of Peace (1993)
Messages and photos hover above heads.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Behold, the giant inflatable flying saucer that hovers in the air!
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Today both men hover around their fifth decade, but neither quite looks it.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The chairman is still hovering, nervously.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Elsewhere across the country, temperatures hovered around freezing for most of the day.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
They are very noticeable as they hover or drift around in a sleepy, sluggish way.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Her teenage daughter hovers in the background, and gives her a hug.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
I want to feel the place without you hovering around interpreting things for me.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
I looked at it and it was as if my pen was still hovering above the page.
The Sun (2016)
This is a potentially catastrophic thing to do to a helicopter, let alone one hovering over a crowded boat.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
And just five points from their last five Championship games has left them hovering two places above the drop zone.
The Sun (2013)
AFC have lost four of their last six in the league and hover one point above the drop zone.
The Sun (2012)
By midday, the temperature hovers about 25 degrees.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
hover
British English: hover VERB
To hover means to stay in the same position in the air without moving forwards or backwards.
Beautiful butterflies hovered above the wild flowers.
American English: hover
Brazilian Portuguese: pairar
Chinese: > 盘旋鸟、昆虫等通过快速扇动翅膀在原地
European Spanish: flotar (en el aire)
French: planer
German: schweben
Italian: rimanere sospeso nell'aria
Japanese: 空中で静止する
Korean: > 공중에 떠 있다제자리에서
European Portuguese: pairar
Latin American Spanish: flotar (en el aire)
Chinese translation of 'hover'
hover
(ˈhɔvəʳ)
vi
[bird, insect]翱翔 (áoxiáng)
[helicopter]盘(盤)旋 (pánxuán)
[person]徘徊 (páihuái)
1 (verb)
Definition
(of a bird, insect, or helicopter) to remain suspended in one place in the air
Beautiful butterflies hovered above the wild flowers.
Synonyms
float
Empty things float.
fly
A flag was flying on the new HQ.
hang
A haze of expensive perfume hangs around her.
drift
We proceeded to drift along the river.
be suspended
flutter
The birds were fluttering among the trees.
poise
2 (verb)
Definition
to linger uncertainly in a place
Judith was hovering in the doorway.
Synonyms
linger
Customers are welcome to linger over coffee until midnight.
loiter
unemployed young men loitering at the entrance to the factory.
wait nearby
hang about or around (informal)
3 (verb)
Definition
to be in an unsettled or uncertain situation or frame of mind
We hover between great hopes and great fears.
Synonyms
waver
Some military commanders wavered over whether to support the coup.
alternate
Moments of beauty alternate with slapstick comedy.
fluctuate
Body temperatures can fluctuate when you are ill.
haver (British)
falter
I have not faltered in my quest for a new future.
dither mainly British)
We're still dithering over whether to go away on holiday next week.
oscillate
She oscillated between elation and despair.
vacillate
She is vacillating over whether or not to marry him.
seesaw
The stock-market see-sawed up and down.
swither (Scottish, dialect)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of alternate
Definition
to occur by turns
Moments of beauty alternate with slapstick comedy.
Synonyms
interchange,
change,
alter,
fluctuate,
intersperse,
take turns,
oscillate,
chop and change,
follow one another,
follow in turn
in the sense of dither
Definition
to be uncertain or indecisive
We're still dithering over whether to go away on holiday next week.