cursor

noun

cur·​sor ˈkər-sər 

-ˌsȯr

: a movable item used to mark a position: such as

a

: a transparent slide with a line attached to a slide rule

b

: a visual cue (such as a flashing vertical line) on a video display that indicates position (as for data entry)

Examples of cursor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Indianapolis Grand Prix was the pre-cursor for the Indianapolis 500. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2026

The four imap and nmap lines make the arrow keys move the cursor up and down in both normal and insert mode via display lines rather than the actual file lines, which really helps with arrow key navigation with long wrapping lines. —Lee Hutchinson, ArsTechnica, 6 May 2026

The firm said Intel’s big earnings are a pre-cursor for a big ramp up in the company’s CPU business. —Davis Giangiulio,lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026

That’s done via a minigame where players move a cursor along a grid and to an endpoint. —Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin cursor "runner, courier," from currere "to run" + -tor, agent suffix — more at current entry 1

Note: For cursor as agent noun of currere in place of expected *co(r)stor see note at course entry 1. As with other Latin deverbal derivatives, the zero grade ablaut of the past participle has been generalized with all suffixes ending in -t-.

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cursor

• bursar
• mercer
• purser
• precursor

Kids Definition

cursor

noun

cur·​sor ˈkər-sər 

: a mark (as a bright blinking spot) on a computer display screen that shows the place where the user is working