# hover

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈhɒvə/ · frequency rank #20,667

## Definitions
1. To keep (something, such as an aircraft) in a stationary state in the air.
2. Of a bird: to shelter (chicks) under its body and wings; (by extension) of a thing: to cover or surround (something).
3. Of a bird or insect: to flap (its wings) so it can remain stationary in the air.
4. To remain stationary or float in the air.
5. Sometimes followed by over: to hang around or linger in a place, especially in an uncertain manner.
6. To be indecisive or uncertain; to vacillate, to waver.
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. To travel in a hovercraft as it moves above a water surface.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **Howe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hover-vs-howe)
- **Huber** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hover-vs-huber)
- **hoyer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hover-vs-hoyer)
- **however** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hover-vs-however)
- **her** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/her-vs-hover)
- **hoe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoe-vs-hover)
- **hor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hor-vs-hover)
- **HOV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hov-vs-hover)
- **have** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/have-vs-hover)
- **home** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/home-vs-hover)
- **hope** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hope-vs-hover)
- **hour** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hour-vs-hover)
- **hole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hole-vs-hover)
- **hose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hose-vs-hover)
- **hive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hive-vs-hover)
- **hone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hone-vs-hover)
- **hove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hove-vs-hover)
- **hoke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoke-vs-hover)
- **hotel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hotel-vs-hover)
- **homes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/homes-vs-hover)

## Common misspellings (7)
`hhover`, `hoevr`, `hoverr`, `hovre`, `hovver`, `hvoer`, `ohver`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hover