cursor

IPA/ˈkɜːsə(r)/
KK[kˈɚsɚ]IPA/ˈkɜːrsər/

cursor — noun

  • cursorsingular
  • cursorsplural

1. a small movable marker shown on your monitor — for instance, an arrow or a blink

1.nounB1
Definition

a small movable marker shown on your monitor — for instance, an arrow or a blinking vertical bar — that tells you the exact spot where clicking or typing will take effect.

Example

Yuna moved the cursor to the top of the document and clicked the save icon.

verb + cursor: move the cursor

When the cursor turns into a hand, you can click on that link.

cursor changes to [shape]

Common collocations
  • blinking cursor
  • text cursor
  • mouse cursor
  • move the cursor
  • place the cursor
  • position the cursor
  • drag the cursor
  • cursor blinks
  • cursor appears
  • cursor moves
Synonyms
  • pointer

    often used specifically for the arrow-shaped cursor that you use to click buttons and links; 'cursor' is broader and includes the text-insertion caret.

  • caret

    a technical term for the blinking vertical line that marks where text will appear; less common in everyday language than 'cursor'.

Grammar Patterns

the cursor

a cursor

Usage Note

The cursor can take different shapes — an arrow, an I-beam (for text), or a hand — depending on the task and the part of the screen you are pointing at. The word covers all these forms.

Common Mistakes

I clicked the cursor on the link.
I moved the cursor to the link and clicked on it.
'click' is an action you perform with the mouse button, not something you do to the cursor itself.
My cursor is very slow.
My mouse / trackpad is very slow.
slowness usually refers to the input device, not the on-screen marker; the cursor itself does not have speed.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Cursor' is the general word for any movable on-screen marker on a computer. 'Pointer' usually means the arrow-shaped cursor used to click buttons, links, and menus — it is a type of cursor. 'Caret' is a narrower technical term for the blinking vertical line that shows where typed text will appear (also called the text cursor or insertion point). In everyday speech, most people say 'cursor' for both the arrow and the line; 'pointer' is also common but slightly more precise when referring to the arrow. Example: 'Move the cursor (or pointer) to the shopping cart icon' vs. 'Place the cursor (or caret) after the comma.'

pointer ↗caret ↗

Etymology

LatinEnglish

From Latin 'cursor' meaning 'runner' or 'messenger', derived from 'currere' (to run). The computer sense appeared in the 1960s, borrowing from an earlier use of 'cursor' as a transparent sliding marker on a slide rule that the user would 'run' along a scale to read a measurement.