Linger

//ˈlɪŋɡɚ// name, verb

name, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To stay or remain in a place or situation, especially as if unwilling to depart or not easily able to do so. intransitive

    "Still more foole I ſhall appeare / By the time I linger here"

  2. 2
    leave slowly and hesitantly wordnet
  3. 3
    To remain alive or existent although still proceeding toward death or extinction; to die gradually. intransitive

    "He lingered through the day, and died that evening as the sun went down."

  4. 4
    take one's time; proceed slowly wordnet
  5. 5
    To consider or contemplate for a period of time; to engage in analytic thinking or discussion. idiomatic, intransitive, often

    "Trump doesn't linger on the poll."

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    be about a place without any apparent purpose wordnet
  2. 7
    to hang about in a place beyond the proper or usual time wordnet
  3. 8
    remain present although waning or gradually dying wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
abideloiterloitertarrytarryabide

Example

More examples

"Fadil didn't linger in the area."

Etymology

From Middle English lengeren, frequentative of lengen (“to stay, dwell, tarry”), from Old English lenġan (“to lengthen, delay, extend”), from Proto-West Germanic *langijan, from Proto-Germanic *langijaną (compare West Frisian lingje (“to linger”), Dutch lengen, German längen, Icelandic lengja (“to lengthen”)), related to the root of English long. Equivalent to linge or long + -er (frequentative verb suffix).

Related phrases

linger onlinger out

More for "linger"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.