rover
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rover¹
- /ˈɹəʊvə/ UK
- /ˈɹoʊvɚ/ US
- /ˈɾovəɾ/ Scotland
- /ˈɾoːvə/ Wales
Rhymes with -əʊvə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From rove (“to roam, wander; (archery) to shoot an arrow randomly”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns from verbs). Rove is derived from Late Middle English *roven, rove (“to wander”); further etymology uncertain, possibly an English Midlands variant of Northern England raven, rave (“to rove, stray, wander”), possibly from Old Norse ráfa (“to roam, wander”) (although rove and rave are only attested much later), possibly from Proto-Germanic *wabōną, *wabjaną (“to cause to weave; to entangle, wrap”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”).
noun rovers
- One who roves: a person or animal that travels around, especially over a wide area, without a fixed destination; a nomad, a roamer, a wanderer. But these islands, undisturbed for years, relapsed into their previous obscurity; and it is only recently that anything has been known concerning them. Once in the course of a half century, to be sure, some adventurous rover would break in upon their peaceful repose. and astonished at the unusual sc
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A restless, unsteady person who does not settle down; specifically (historical), a flirtatious, unfaithful man; a rake.
Near-synonyms: see Thesaurus:libertine
Similar: benedick, cad, drabber, fuck boy, fuck-boy, fuckboy, gallant, goat, he-bitch, himbo, homme fatal, horndog
- Also rover ticket: a person who has a ticket for an event, performance, etc., but no assigned seat, and so has to find a place to sit or stand.
- A small manned or unmanned land vehicle for exploring extraterrestrial bodies. September 19, 2005, Dave Lane, Mars Exploration Rover "OPPORTUNITY" NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is currently traveling southward over a pavement of outcrop dubbed the "Erebus Highway." "Erebus Crater," the rover's next target, lies less than 100 meters (328 feet) south of its current p
- A defensive back position whose coverage responsibilities are a combination of those of a cornerback, linebacker, and safety; also, a player playing this position. I went to Coach Beamer and, because we had a lot of outside linebackers, ask him if I could play rover.
- Chiefly in the plural in the form to shoot at rovers: a target randomly selected by an archer, usually for practice; also, a fixed target for practising long-distance shooting. "By my hilt! no. There was little Robby Withstaff, and Andrew Salblaster, and Wat Alspaye, who broke the neck of the German. Mon Dieu! what men they were! Take them how you would, at long butts or short, hoyles, rounds, or rovers, better bowmen never twirled a shaft over their thumb-nails.
- A type of heavy arrow used for long-distance shooting. All sorts, flights, rovers, and butt shafts.
- A position that is one of three of a team's followers making up a ruck, who follow the ball around the ground; also, a player playing this position, who is generally fast and skilful at receiving the ball, and formerly of shorter stature.
- In full rover ball: a ball which has passed through all the hoops and would peg out if it hit the stake but is continued in play to help fellow players or obstruct opposing players; also, the player of such a ball.
- Alternative letter-case form of Rover (“an early type of safety bicycle with a lower riding position than previous models”).
- A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
- Alternative letter-case form of Rover (“Short for Land Rover (“a type of road vehicle capable of being driven off-road”)”).
- The tenth defensive player in slow-pitch softball.
- A forward whose responsibility was to feed the scrum and protect the scrum-half; the position was abandoned after a 1931 rule change.
- Alternative letter-case form of Rover (“Short for Rover Scout (“a member of a Scouting organization for young men too old to be Boy Scouts”)”).
- Especially in rover ticket: a type of pass, ticket, etc., that allows the holder unlimited travel on certain types of public transport for specified periods.
- In full rover patrol: an airborne reconnaissance patrol.
rover²
- /ˈɹəʊvə/ UK
- /ˈɹoʊvɚ/ US
- /ˈɾovəɾ/ Scotland
- /ˈɾoːvə/ Wales
Rhymes with -əʊvə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Late Middle English rover, rovere (“pirate”), borrowed from Middle Dutch rôver, rôvere (from rôven (“to pillage, plunder, rob”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns from verbs)), or Middle Low German rōver (“plunderer, robber; pirate, reaver”) (from rōven (“to pillage, plunder, rob”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns from verbs)), both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *raubōną (“to plunder, rob, steal”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- (“to break, tear (up)”). Doublet of reaver.
cognates
* Danish røver (“brigand, highwayman, robber, thief”)
* German Räuber
* Norwegian røver (“brigand, highwayman, robber, thief”)
noun rovers
- A pirate. [T]he king ſent to the ſea ſixe good ſhippes, well manned and vitayled for the warre: […] for ſaffegarde of the Merchauntes, and other the kinges ſubiectes, that were greuouſly ſpoyled and robbed on the ſea, by Frenchmen, Scottes and other rouers.
- A pirate ship. Our Ship making her Courſe tovvards the Canary Iſlands, or rather betvveen those Iſlands and the African Shore, vvas ſurpriſed in the Grey of the Morning by a Turkiſh Rover of Sallee, vvho gave Chaſe to us vvith all the Sail ſhe could make.
- A plunderer, a raider, a robber. In his daies came vp Nabuchodonoſor [Nebuchadnezzar II] the king of Babylon, and Ioakim vvas made his ſeruant three yeares: and he rebelled agaynſt him againe. And our Lord ſent in vpon him the rouers of the Chaldees, and the rouers of Syria, and the rouers of Moab, & the rouers of the children of A
rover³
- /ˈɹəʊvə/ UK
- /ˈɹoʊvɚ/ US
- /ˈɾovəɾ/ Scotland
- /ˈɾoːvə/ Wales
Rhymes with -əʊvə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From rove (“to card (wool or other fibres)”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns from verbs). Rove is probably a variant of row (“(Scotland, obsolete, rare) to make (cotton, wool, etc.) into rovings”), probably from row (“(Ireland, Scotland, archaic) rove or roving of cotton, wool, etc.”), probably a variant of roll (“thing which is rolled up”), ultimately from Latin rota (“wheel”) and Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- (“to roll; to run”).
noun rovers
- One who forms cotton, wool, or other fibres into rovings (“long, narrow bundles of fibres”), specifically using a roving frame in a mill. A Manufacture of Cotton is lately eſtabliſhed in this City, and is arrived at a very great Perfection; and I could not but be greatly pleaſed, vvhen I vvas there laſt, to ſee a very handſome Proceſſion made on this Occaſion, viz. on May-day 1740, at vvhich Time Mr. Clough, the Maſter of the Manufact
- A machine used to make rovings, especially a roving frame. The cotton being spread upon one of the cards, it was repeatedly combed with another till all the fibres were laid straight, when it was stripped off the card in a fleecy roll ready for the rover.
Rover⁴
Where it comes from
From rover.
noun Rovers
- Someone connected with any number of teams called the Rovers, as a fan, player, coach etc.
- someone connected with Blackburn Rovers FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.
- A member of the senior section of the Boy Scout movement catering for men of age 18 upwards, now disbanded.
proper noun
- A stereotypical given name for a dog. Thor jumped off the sledge to undo the gate, and as we merrily drove up to the door we were met by the boisterous welcome of old Rover, who in his frantic joy at hearing my voice almost broke his chain in trying to rush at me.
- A former make of a British motorcar.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: roamer, wanderer, rove, honda, ranger, nomad, radio, orbiter, robot, probe, dizziness, renard, fox, foxes, itinerant, drifter
Translations
Every language
noun person or animal that travels around, especially over a wide area, without a fixed destination
| Español | trotamundos, vagabundo |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Nomade, Vagabund, Wanderer, Weltenbummler |
| Ελληνικά | περιπλανώμενος periplanómenos, πλάνης plánis |
| Русский | бродя́га brodjága, скита́лец skitálec, стра́нник stránnik |
noun small manned or unmanned land vehicle for exploring extraterrestrial bodies
| Español | astromóvil |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ローバー rōbā |
| 中文 | 探測漫遊者 /探测漫游者 tàncè mànyóuzhě |
| Deutsch | Rover |
| Română | rover |
| Русский | планетохо́д planetoxód |
Talk about this word "rover." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rover. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. rover. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rover "rover." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rover.Cite this
@misc{rover_2026,
title = {rover},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rover},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
