linger (redirected from lingering)

linger around

to wait around; to be idle some place. Don't linger around. Get going! All the students were lingering around, waiting until the last minute to go into the building.

See also: around

linger on

to remain for a long time; to exist longer than would have been thought. This cold of mine just keeps lingering on. Some of the guests lingered on for a long time after the party was over.

linger on (after someone or something) and stay on (after someone or something)

to outlast someone or something; to live longer than someone else or long after an event. Aunt Sarah lingered on only a few months after Uncle Herman died. She lingered on and was depressed for a while.

linger on something

to delay moving on to the next thing; to remain at something and not move on. Don't linger on that one problem so long. I don't want to waste a lot of time lingering on this question.

linger over something 

1. to take too much time or idle over something, such as a meal, a cup of coffee, etc. I could linger over coffee all morning, given the chance. Don't linger over your soup. It will get cold.

2. to dawdle over the doing of something. You shouldn't linger over eating your dinner. It would he best not to linger over making up your mind.