WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
hov′ering act′, [Internat. Law.]
- Lawan act forbidding or restricting the loitering of foreign or domestic vessels within the prescribed limits of a coastal nation.
- Lawan act stipulating that foreign vessels may be boarded and their shipping manifests checked by the appropriate government officials beyond the three-mile limit of a coastal nation.