as in to float
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air claimed that the UFO hovered a moment, then spun off into space at incredible speed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hover Rising inventory levels are giving buyers more options and better negotiating power, but historically high home prices and mortgage rates still hovering between 6 and 7 percent are still dampening demand. Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025 The Ducks hovered around .500 for most of the year before a late swoon dropped them to 35-37-10 for 80 points — 21 better than one season earlier but still 16 out of a playoff spot. Carol Schram, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025 Two sides of the hull even fold down to create bar seating hovering just above the waterline. Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2025 The early critical response has hovered north of the 90th percentile in favorability, though some reviewers argue the filmmakers have gone too narrow-focus on sheer authenticity, not to say shock value. Fred Schruers, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hover
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hover
Verb
  • Trump floated a plan to nix the federal income tax and replace revenue with money from tariffs.
    Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025
  • Governor Kathy Hochul later floated her own Brooklyn-to-Queens light-rail project, the Interborough Express, or IBX.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • As part of its efforts under [Free and Open Indo-Pacific], [Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force] remains delighted to sail into friends' ports and help enhance openness thru various and collaborative interactions.
    Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Domestic life did not suit the 26-year-old young woman who had once sailed to China to preach the word of God.
    Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The way the film swims through the contradictions, considerations, and cultural reverie of the rural South is genuinely enlivening.
    Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
  • A number of the boat’s passengers, among them women and children, died after jumping into the water and being unable to swim.
    David Chiu, People.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Fifteen speakers lurk behind acoustic fabric; nine sit directly behind a woven French Screen Research surface that lets full-range frequencies glide through untouched.
    Spencer Elliott, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • The stick itself also glides onto the skin very easily without slipping or getting caught in drier or harder-to-reach areas of the face.
    Danielle Jackson, Glamour, 25 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Texas officials disputed Mexico’s claim that the bodies were tangled in the buoys and said only one body was found and that the person drowned upstream and drifted downstream toward the buoys.
    Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 16 Apr. 2025
  • One of the reasons the forward P/E did not fall as much as trailing P/Es is that earnings estimates drifted lower, Clissold noted.
    Yun Li, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hover.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hover. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on hover

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!