linger

verb

ˈliŋ-gər How to pronounce linger (audio)
Definition of lingernext
as in to delay
to move or act slowly since they were charging by the hour, the house painters lingered in finishing up their work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of linger For Green, and the Warriors (2-0), the victory eliminated any lingering doubts about their season opener last week, a thrilling, 32-26 triple-overtime win against Newbury Park. — Joel Beers, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026 During these months, the sun lingers well past midnight, giving you more time to explore and cover ground. — Gwen Nicol, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026 With mortgage rates lingering between 6% and 7%, more than double the rates seen during the pandemic, smaller homes can fit more comfortably into a buyer's budget – especially for first-time buyers, LendingTree said. — Medora Lee, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 Plush tannins support flavors of cocoa powder, black licorice, cassis, and the sensation of the famous Rutherford dust in the lingering finish. — Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for linger
Recent Examples of Synonyms for linger
  1. delay
  2. drag
  3. crawl
  4. poke
  5. loiter
  6. stroll
Verb
  • During the first quarter of this year, around $130 billion worth of data center projects were blocked or delayed due to local opposition, according to a report from Data Center Watch.
    — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The classroom pipeline feeds directly into Russia’s conscription system, which requires all 18-year-old men to complete one year’s military service, though in reality many avoid or delay being drafted.
    — Bloomberg, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of delay
Verb
  • The playbook that drove the first $100 million starts to drag.
    — Doug May, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • This occurs with minimal working capital drag, since fulfillment runs through pre-established pharmacy networks rather than capital-intensive durable equipment logistics.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of drag
Verb
  • Installation doesn’t require crews to manually crawl along hundreds of miles of line.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The Leao Tires subbrand has a huge range of truck, bus, and tractor tires for everything from daily driving on pavement to slow crawling through muddy farm fields.
    — Michael Febbo, The Drive, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of crawl
Verb
  • Polymarket dropped him like a hot potato, though, once the CFTC began poking into his suspicious Kalshi bets.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Seething at his dad for poking at his body insecurities, the comedian dealt with his emotions like any good millennial — by podcasting about it.
    — Deputy Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of poke
Verb
  • That March, Tahmasbi noticed strangers loitering around his apartment building.
    — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The company revealed that both the Containerized Missile Launcher and the FV-014 loitering munition system are in-house developments.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of loiter
Verb
  • In 2018, the real-estate agent Glenn Rice was strolling on the beach and noticed the place.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Fairgoers strolling the grounds were also likely to run into House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who won the Republican primary for governor earlier this month and will face Klobuchar in November.
    — Esme Murphy, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of stroll

Browse Nearby Words

line up
linger
lingered
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Linger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/linger. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All