hover

/ˈhɒvə/

//ˈhɒvə// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hover" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hover” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,667. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,667
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To keep (something, such as an aircraft) in a stationary state in the air.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hover · hover · English

hover · rank #20,667 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,667
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH howling

Nearest frequency peer: howling (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “hover”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “hover” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hover vs Howe
40% similar
hover vs Huber
40% similar
hover vs hoyer
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hover
PropertyValue
Headwordhover
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈhɒvə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#20,667
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hover” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hoverlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “howling” (#20,668), “homie” (#20,665), “humbled” (#20,669). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around hover (IPA /ˈhɒvə/), averb. Corpus frequency is #20,667 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for hover, with forms such as "hhover", "hoevr", and "hoverr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Howe", "Huber", "hoyer", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English hoveren (“to float in the air, hover; to stay”), probably from hoven (“hover; of a bird: to fly high in the air, soar”) (which it displaced) + -er- (frequentative suffix). Hoven is probably derived from Old English *h… The correct English form is hover, spelled H-O-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To keep (something, such as an aircraft) in a stationary state in the air.
  2. 2
    Of a bird: to shelter (chicks) under its body and wings; (by extension) of a thing: to cover or surround (something).
  3. 3
    Of a bird or insect: to flap (its wings) so it can remain stationary in the air.
  4. 4
    To remain stationary or float in the air.
  5. 5
    Sometimes followed by over: to hang around or linger in a place, especially in an uncertain manner.
  6. 6
    To be indecisive or uncertain; to vacillate, to waver.
  7. 7
    Chiefly followed by over: to use a mouse or other device to place a cursor over something on a screen such as a hyperlink or icon without clicking, so as to produce a result (such as the appearance of a tooltip).
  8. 8
    To travel in a hovercraft as it moves above a water surface.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hover appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Castration has a ſtrange effect: it emaſculates both man, beaſt, and bird, and brings them to a near reſemblance of the other ſex. […] Capons have ſmall combs and gills, and look pallid about the head, like pullets; they alſo vvalk vvithout any parade, and hover chickens like hens.
  2. O'er the deer Corps ſomtimes her vvings ſhe [an eagle] hovers, / Somtimes the dead breſt vvith her breſt ſhe covers, […]

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English hoveren (“to float in the air, hover; to stay”), probably from hoven (“hover; of a bird: to fly high in the air, soar”) (which it displaced) + -er- (frequentative suffix). Hoven is probably derived from Old English *hōfian, from hōfon, the plural past indicative form of hebban (“to lift, raise”), from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to lift; to heave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- (“to hold, seize”). The English word is analysable as hove (“(obsolete) to remain suspended, float, hover; to linger, wait”) + -er (frequentative suffix). The noun is derived from the verb.

This word in other languages

cernerse(Español)éventiller(Français)behüten(Deutsch)pairar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhover
  • hoevr
  • hoverr
  • hovre
  • hovver
  • hvoer
  • ohver

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hover - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hhover1hoevr2hoverr1hovre2hovver1hvoer2ohver2
Edit distance from "hover"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hover"?
"hover" is spelled H-O-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɒvə/.
What does "hover" mean?
As a verb, "hover" means: To keep (something, such as an aircraft) in a stationary state in the air.
What words are commonly confused with "hover"?
"hover" is commonly confused with "Howe", "Huber", "hoyer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hover"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hover" is /ˈhɒvə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hover"?
The verb is derived from Middle English hoveren (“to float in the air, hover; to stay”), probably from hoven (“hover; of a bird: to fly high in the air, soar”) (which it displaced) + -er- (frequentative suffix). Hoven is probably derived from Old ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hover", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

homie#20,665helix#20,662groin#20,652knack#20,682

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

kodak7 variantsLillian7 variantsmacho7 variantsexpel7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "hover". Here's where to go from here.

  • "hover" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Howe". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #20,667 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "H" letter cohort. H–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list