Ospreys were most successful hunting from a hover and spent more of their hunting time doing it that way.βπ Image 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.βπ Image Breck Henderson
Verb
Watch as the hummingbird hovers over the flowers.
Bees hovered around the hive.
Waiters hovered near our table.
nervous mothers hovering over their children
Unemployment rates were hovering around 10 percent.
Temperatures will continue to hover around freezing.
The patient was hovering between life and death.
The country hovers on the brink of famine.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Verb
Video from the rescue shows the helicopter descending near the Seneca River and then hovering over the water, where the dog is struggling to keep its head above the surface.βπ Image Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026 Karaban, whose numbers have always hovered in the same range, saw the biggest dip of his career.βπ Image Dana OβNeil, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
Noun
Often the feelings of displacement hover in the background, as in my novel about Henry James, The Master, or are much sharper and painful, as in my novel about Thomas Mann, The Magician.βπ Image Literary Hub, 31 Mar. 2026 In the video, Kid Rock is seen standing near the pool as the aircraft hovers briefly before flying away.βπ Image Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hover
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English hoveren, frequentative of hoven to hover