hover

noun

plural hovers

: the act or state of hovering in the air

Ospreys were most successful hunting from a hover and spent more of their hunting time doing it that way.

—John P. Wiley, Jr.

After a careful check outside to ensure that his flight path was clear, one of the pilots lifted his helicopter to a hover, then maneuvered to the middle of the valley.

—Breck Henderson

Examples of hover in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Its manufacturing yield hovers around 50 percent—meaning fabs discard half their output. —Sarwant Singh, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026

Interest rates on this account type hover around 4% or higher now, depending on the bank. —Matt Richardson, CBS News, 26 May 2026

However, even January, the island’s coldest month, is worth considering for a vacation, as the daily high hovers around 55 degrees. —Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 23 May 2026

Beneficial hover flies are then attracted to feed on aphid larvae. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 22 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1513, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hover

• cover
• plover
• discover
• hardcover
• recover
• thereover
• uncover
• rediscover
• undercover

Kids Definition

hover

verb

hov·​er ˈhəv-ər  ˈhäv- 

hovered; hovering -(ə-)riŋ 

1

a

: to hang fluttering in the air or on the wing

a bird hovered overhead

b

: to remain floating over a place or object

2

a

: to move to and fro near a place

waiters hovered about

b

: to be in an undecided or uncertain state

hovering between life and death

hover noun

hoverer

-ər-ər 

noun