1Stay in a place longer than necessary because of a reluctance to leave.

她在院子里多待了一会儿，享受一下温暖的阳光。

她故意挑逗地把目光在他身上停留了一会儿。

1. 1.1linger over Spend a long time over (something)
   磨蹭，拖延
   she lingered over her meal

   她这顿饭慢吞吞地吃了好长时间。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Call the French snooty, or just demanding, for their attention to good food, good wine, good atmosphere in their restaurants, for lingering over their meals.
   • Props to the restaurant for not pointedly bringing our check as we were lingering over desert or having them bring us basket after basket of bread to soak up every last drop of sauce from our various dishes.
   • I buy a few items and linger over coffee, observing the atmosphere.
   • He lingers over another ‘personal favourite, the forces of conservatism speech of 1999’.
   • If it weren't for the economic need for multiple games, I would take several hours over each hunt, lingering over the figures, letting the hunters scent them as they fall and detecting those that remain.
   • All that atmosphere means not to linger over the excellent coffee would be churlish.
   • If a customer lingers over a product, the cameras zoom in to record facial expressions.
   • As we were lingering over our desserts, Baklava and a Molten Chocolate Cake with the perfumed Cardamom and Rose ice cream, the chef, Mohamed, surprised us by joining us at our table with a bottle of wine that he kindly shared amongst us.
   • In France, diners eat in courses and linger over their lengthy meals.
   • Pictures of yourself as a chubby, wailing baby are likely to be quickly skipped over, while images of your nearest and dearest sporting the cutting-edge fashions of yesterday are worth lingering over.
   • Rigid chairs and bland decor did not encourage us to linger over coffee, mugged or otherwise.
   • Staying at the Decoplage apartment, they would wake early for breakfast at the Van Dyke Cafe, work out at Idol's Gym, and linger over a Cuban coffee before spending the day at the pool.
   • The evenings were spent lingering over fine wines and cognacs while gymnastic students modelled the latest in Brazilian swimwear.
   • It is a wonderful production that knows how to take its time, lingering over the ship board details rather than striving for nonstop action like most Hollywood blockbusters.
   • To prove it, he lingers over the subtle details, no less carefully than the artist himself.
   • The camera lingers over his body, reversing the gaze traditionally directed toward the nude female.
   • Saturday morning is spent lingering over a massive three course breakfast (those tropical fruits make a fine salad, with just a dash of Cointreau to top up our levels).
   • Perhaps you know the pub which does the most incredible Sunday lunches and whose staff won't mind if you spend all afternoon lingering over a roast and the papers.
   • Christmas is the time we linger over our meals longer than at any other.
   • Unlike the cigarette smoker, who draws needily upon the commercially packaged weed, the pipe man takes things slowly, lingering over the rituals of cleaning, filling, tamping.
2. 1.2 Be slow to disappear or die.
   迟迟不去，继续留存，缓慢消失（或消亡）
   the tradition seems to linger on

   这个传统现在似乎还不会消亡。

   we are thankful that she didn't linger on and suffer

   我们都很庆幸她没有拖延时日，没多受苦就死去了。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The cost of the debt will linger on long after the World Cup has come and gone.
   • Six decades on, few of the legacies of the war and the independence of its former colony linger on.
   • Ireland will be the richer as the memories linger on, she told the thousands that had gathered.
   • Even after my mom had finished baking cookies, the smell still lingered in the air when we walked inside.
   • The tea leaves add a unique fragrance to the tender ribs which lingers in the mouth.
   • You'll soon forget the bill, but the memory of the food will linger on.
   • It may be more than four years ago now, but memories linger on.
   • Even so, he had a troubling doubt that lingered and stayed with him when he considered his future.
   • We see these types of trials linger on for years as a method to win the case.
   • The stereotypes may seem rather weary, but they linger on because, well, because they're still there.
   • The odour does linger on the breath; it even comes through the pores of the skin but, if we all ate garlic, it wouldn't matter.
   • He shuts his phone and says my name softly and it lingers on his tongue.
   • He said it could linger on for a long time unless both sides were willing to make peace.
   • The suspicion lingered with him that someone was making a joke at his expense.
   • Questions lingered in my mind, but I was hesitant to ask them.
   • Many bad habits will linger on and many good ones may disappear but at least the pattern will change a bit.
   • Because of the lack of carbonation, the flavor seems nutty and lingers on the palate.
   • Leaves had turned black, and an acrid smell lingered in the air.
   • The scent lingering in the hallway was less than comforting.
   • I saw it in a magazine, and the vision lingered in my memory.

   Synonyms

   persist, continue, remain, stay

   be protracted, endure, carry on, last, keep on/up, hold

   survive, abide

   informal hang around/round