A cursor is a small symbol on a computer screen that shows where you are working. The most common cursor is a blinking vertical line that appears when you're typing, marking exactly where the next letter will appear. When you move your mouse, a different cursor (usually an arrow or pointing hand) follows along, showing where you'll click next.

Before computers, a cursor was a sliding marker on tools like slide rules that helped people line up numbers for calculations.

Different cursors signal different actions. An arrow lets you select things. A hand means you can click a link. An hourglass or spinning wheel tells you to wait while the computer thinks. When you're writing, that blinking line cursor moves forward with each keystroke, like a tiny runner racing across the page.

Understanding cursors helps you know what your computer is ready to do. If you don't see a cursor where you expect it, you might need to click there first to tell the computer, “I want to work here now.”