From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlingerlin‧ger /ˈlɪŋɡə $ -ər/ ●○○ verb [intransitive] 1 (also linger on)STILL to continue to exist, be noticeable etc for longer than is usual or desirable a taste that lingers in your mouth Unfortunately the tax will linger on until April.2 STAY/NOT LEAVE (also linger on) to stay somewhere a little longer, especially because you do not want to leavelinger over They lingered over coffee and missed the last bus. I spent a week at Kandersteg and could happily have lingered on.► see thesaurus at stay3 [always + adverb/preposition]CONTINUE/NOT STOP to continue looking at or dealing with something for longer than is usual or desirablelinger on/over Mike let his eyes linger on her face. There’s no need to linger over this stage of the interview.4 (also linger on)DIE to continue to live although you are slowly dying He surprised all the doctors by lingering on for several weeks.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
linger• Outside the church many parishioners lingered, distributing leaflets and gossiping.• She lingered for a moment, uncertain what to do, then turned on her heel and left abruptly.• Jack lingered for a while in the hall, hoping to get the chance to talk with her.• But the memory of that last family holiday together in Orkney lingers for ever.• It usually takes several days for the pain to subside, although it can linger for weeks.• The chromium, used to prevent pipe corrosion, was released from 1951 until 1966, but lingered in groundwater.• The poets did not care to linger in that gloom-hidden abode.• Spike, still feeling in disgrace, comes in with her but lingers in the doorway.• Garlic has a taste which tends to linger in your mouth.• Derek, in a show of good manners, lingered long enough to exchange a few remarks.• Summer weather has lingered longer than usual.• We lingered, not just because of the food but also because of the view out the picture window.• Uncle Gene lingered on a year longer than doctors expected.• A few fans lingered on after the concert was over.• The faint smell of cigar smoke lingered on in the room.• I lingered on the sidewalk outside the old house, wondering who lived there now.• Doubts about Manzi's honesty still linger on.• As she lingered over her coffee, the sky began to darken and heavy rain clouds swept in.linger on/over• Muriel said nothing while Lily lingered over breakfast and then disappeared upstairs.• The emotions of the moment lingered on for years, making impossible any detached assessment.• A musk smell lingered on Groves' sleeve, from where the female snake had curled around his arm.• Director Mike Figgis' powerfully bleak film lingers on like a hangover.• Sometimes he lingers over one, filling in every detail, including when and how it was shot.• Male speaker A lot of apples are lingering on the ground.• She walked slowly down the gangway, her eyes lingering on the treasures she passed.• There is no need to linger over this stage.Origin linger (1200-1300) leng “to lengthen, delay” ((11-16 centuries)), from Old English lengan 