Hover

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈhÉ’v.É™(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -É’vÉ™(r)
• US IPA: /ˈhÊŒvÉš/
• Rhymes: -ÊŒvÉ™(r)

Old English hoveren (frequentative of hoven).

Verb

1. To float in the air.
• 2013-06-29, Travels and travails, Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.
2. The hummingbird hovered by the plant.
3. To linger in one place.
• 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure IslandThe neighborhood, to our ears, seemed haunted by approaching footsteps; and what between the dead body of the captain on the parlor floor, and the thought of that detestable blind beggar hovering near at hand, and ready to return, there were moments when, as the saying goes, I jumped in my skin for terror.
4. The strange man hovered outside the gents.
   This time, I hovered between Labour and Liberal Democrat.
5. To waver, or be uncertain.
6. (computing) To place the cursor over a hyperlink or icon without clicking.
   A tooltip appears when you hover over this link.

Derived terms

• hoverboat
• hoverbike
• hovercar
• hoverchair
• hovercraft

Pronunciation

Unknown

Full definition of hover

Noun

1. A cover; a shelter; a protection.