Adjacent Words

Hover definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HOV'ER, v.i.
1. To flap the wings, as a fowl; to hang over or about, fluttering or flapping the wings, with short irregular flights.
Great flights of birds are hovering about the bridge, and settling on it.
2. To hang over or around, with irregular motions.
A hovering mist came swimming o'er his sight.
3. To stand in suspense or expectation.
4. To wander about from place to place in the neighborhood; to move back and forth; as an army hovering on our borders; a ship hovering on our coast.
HOV'ER, n. A protection or shelter by hanging over.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action; "He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement" [syn: hover, vibrate, vacillate, oscillate]
2: move to and fro; "The shy student lingered in the corner" [syn: hover, linger]
3: hang in the air; fly or be suspended above
4: be suspended in the air, as if in defiance of gravity; "The guru claimed that he could levitate" [syn: levitate, hover]
5: hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing; "The terrible vision brooded over her all day long" [syn: brood, hover, loom, bulk large]

Merriam Webster's

intransitive verb (hovered; hovering) Etymology: Middle English hoveren, frequentative of hoven to hover Date: 15th century 1. a. to hang fluttering in the air or on the wing b. to remain suspended over a place or object 2. a. to move to and fro near a place ; fluctuate around a given point <unemployment hovered around 10 percent> b. to be in a state of uncertainty, irresolution, or suspense • hover noun • hoverer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.intr. 1 (of a bird, helicopter, etc.) remain in one place in the air. 2 (often foll. by about, round) wait close at hand, linger. 3 remain undecided. --n. 1 hovering. 2 a state of suspense. Phrases and idioms: hover-fly (pl. -flies) any fly of the family Syrphidae which hovers with rapidly beating wings. Derivatives: hoverer n. Etymology: ME f. obs. hove hover, linger

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hover Hov"er, n. [Etymol. doubtful.] A cover; a shelter; a protection. [Archaic] --Carew. --C. Kingsley.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hover Hov"er, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Hovered; p. pr. & vb. n. Hovering.] [OE. hoveren, and hoven, prob. orig., to abide, linger, and fr. AS. hof house; cf. OFries. hovia to receive into one's house. See Hovel.] 1. To hang fluttering in the air, or on the wing; to remain in flight or floating about or over a place or object; to be suspended in the air above something. Great flights of birds are hovering about the bridge, and settling on it. --Addison. A hovering mist came swimming o'er his sight. --Dryden. 2. To hang about; to move to and fro near a place, threateningly, watchfully, or irresolutely. Agricola having sent his navy to hover on the coast. --Milton. Hovering o'er the paper with her quill. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(hovers, hovering, hovered) 1. 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: V 2. 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... With no idea of what to do for my next move, my hand hovered over the board. VERB: V, V prep/adv 3. 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: V prep/adv 4. 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. In September 1989 the exchange rate hovered around 140 yen to the dollar... VERB: V prep/adv

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. 1. Flutter. 2. Hang about, hang over.

Moby Thesaurus

aeroplane, airlift, airplane, approach, around, ascend, aspire, await, back down, balance, balloon, be airborne, be imminent, be in store, become airborne, brew, clasp, claw skyward, cling to, come on, confront, cruise, dance, debate, deliberate, demur, draw near, draw nigh, draw on, drift, face, falter, fear, ferry, flicker, flit, flitter, float, flutter, fly, fly aloft, follow close upon, forthcome, gain altitude, gather, glide, go with, hang, hang about, hang around, hang back, hang over, hem and haw, hesitate, hop, hover over, huddle, hug, hug the shore, hum and haw, hydroplane, impend, jet, jib, keep close to, kite, leave the ground, levitate, lie by, lie over, linger, loiter, loom, lower, march with, menace, navigate, near, overhang, pause, plane, poise, ponder, pull back, retreat, rise, sail, sailplane, scruple, seaplane, shilly-shally, shy, soar, spire, stand by, stay inshore, stay near, stick at, stickle, stop to consider, straddle the fence, strain at, tailgate, take off, take the air, take wing, think twice about, threaten, volplane, wait, wing, withdraw, yield, zoom