What does "hove" mean?
To remain suspended in air, water etc.; to float, to hover.
Hove
/hoʊv/ name, verb
name, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To remain suspended in air, water etc.; to float, to hover.
- Grammar: hove is listed as name, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: appear, emerge, halt, heave.
- Useful contrasts: continue, depress, disappear.
- Usage evidence: Despite failing to win last night, Brighton and Hove Albion are second in the table.
How to use "hove"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hove" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hove" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hove" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hove" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hove" is acting as name, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "appear" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hove", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To remain suspended in air, water etc.; to float, to hover. intransitive, obsolete
"As shee arrived on the roring shore, / In minde to leape into the mighty maine, / A little bote lay hoving her before[…]."
- 2 To raise; lift; hold up. dialectal, transitive
- 3 simple past and past participle of heave form-of, participle, past
- 4 To wait, linger. intransitive, obsolete
"Alle these xv knyghtes were knyghtes of the table round / Soo these with moo other came in to gyders / and bete on bak the kynge of Northumberland and the kynge of Northwalys / whan sir launcelot sawe this as he houed in a lytil leued woode / thenne he sayd vnto syre lauayn / see yonder is a company of good knyghtes"
- 5 To rise. dialectal, intransitive
"Astond he stood, and vp his haire did houe, / And with that suddein horror could no member moue."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 simple past and past participle of heave dialectal, form-of, obsolete, participle, past
"Pretty soon he gapped and stretched himself and hove off the blanket, and it was Miss Watson's Jim! I bet I was glad to see him."
- 7 To move on or by. intransitive, obsolete
- 8 To remain; delay. dialectal, intransitive
- 9 To remain stationary (usually on horseback). dialectal, intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A town in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of East Sussex, England, west of Brighton (OS grid ref TQ2804).
Example
"Despite failing to win last night, Brighton and Hove Albion are second in the table."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hove"?
Common synonyms include: appear, emerge, halt, heave, heaved, hold.
How do you use "hove" in a sentence?
Despite failing to win last night, Brighton and Hove Albion are second in the table.
How do you pronounce "hove"?
Pronounced /hoʊv/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English hoven (“to linger, wait, hover, move aside, entertain, cherish, foster”), from Old English *hofian (“to receive into one's house”), from Proto-Germanic *hufōną (“to house, lodge”), from Proto-Germanic *hufą (“hill, height, farm, dwelling”), from Proto-Indo-European *keup- (“to arch, bend, buckle”). Cognate with Old Frisian hovia (“to receive into one's home, entertain”), Old Dutch hoven (“to receive into one's home, entertain”). Related to Old English hof (“court, house, dwelling”). More at hovel.
Etymology 2
From Middle English hoven, alteration (due to hove, hoven, past tense and past participle of heven (“to heave”)). More at heave.
Etymology 3
Inflected forms.
Etymology 4
Of disputed origin, with suggestions including hufe (“covering, shelter”) and hof (“hall”). More at Hove.