Word.ws English Dictionary

rover

Syllables: rov·er/ˈɹəʊvə/US/ˈɹoʊvɚ/

rover noun: 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. Also the alternative letter-case form of Rover.

Noun (1)

rover (plural rovers)

  1. 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...1846 February 26, Herman Melville, chapter I, in Narrative of a Four Months’ Residence among the Natives of a Valley of the Marquesas Islands; or, A Peep at Polynesian Life [Typee], London: John...
    • I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, / To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife; / And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, / And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.1902, John Masefield, Sea Fever
  2. (broadly, dated) A restless, unsteady person who does not settle down; specifically (historical), a flirtatious, unfaithful man; a rake.
    • Near-synonyms: see Thesaurus:libertine
    • She is a rover and dislikes any sort of ties, physical or emotional.
  3. (broadly, historical) 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.
  4. (broadly) 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...
  5. (broadly) 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.2011, Frank Beamer, Always a Hokie: Players, Coaches, and Fans Share Their Passion for Virginia Tech Football
  6. (broadly, historical) 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.1890, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 22, in The White Company
  7. (broadly, obsolete) A type of heavy arrow used for long-distance shooting.
    • All sorts, flights, rovers, and butt shafts.1600 (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Cynthias Reuels, or The Fountayne of Selfe-Loue. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby...
  8. (broadly, Australian rules football) 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.
  9. (broadly, croquet) 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.
  10. (broadly) A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
  11. (broadly) The tenth defensive player in slow-pitch softball.
  12. (broadly, historical, rugby union) A forward whose responsibility was to feed the scrum and protect the scrum-half; the position was abandoned after a 1931 rule change.
  13. (UK, attributive, broadly) 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.
  14. (UK, broadly, historical, World War II) In full rover patrol: an airborne reconnaissance patrol.

Noun (2)

rover (plural rovers)

  1. (archaic except historical) 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. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Triumphant Reigne of Kyng Henry the VIII.] The .XIIJ. Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke...
    • Diogenes vvill deſpiſe thee for all that, vvho being expoſed and offered to ſale by the rovers and theeves that tooke him, cried and proclaimed himſelfe aloud: VVho vvill buy a maſter who?1603, Plutarch, “That Vice Alone is Sufficient to Make a Man Wretched”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Philosophie, Commonlie Called, The Morals […], London: […] Arnold Hatfield, →OCLC, page 299
  2. (archaic except historical) 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.1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 19
    • [W]hen coming Home again from the Banks of Nevvfoundland, vve vvere taken by an Algerine Rover, or Man of VVar; […]1720, [Daniel Defoe], The Life, Adventures, and Pyracies, of the Famous Captain Singleton, London: […] J[ohn] Brotherton, […], J[ohn] Graves […], A[nne] Dodd, […], and T[homas] Warner, […], →OCLC...
  3. (obsolete) 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...1609, The Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Laurence Kellam, […], →OCLC, 4 Kinges 24:1–2, page 813
    • [H]ee began to rob and ſpoyle with a great band of rouers, and afterward he attempted to ſet vpon all men.1610 October, John Foxe, “Ottomannus [Osman I] the First Great Emperour or Tyrant of the Turkes”, in Actes and Monuments of Matters Most Speciall and Memorable, Happening in the Church, with an...

Noun (3)

rover (plural rovers)

  1. (historical) 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...1742, [Daniel Defoe], “Letter III. Containing a Description of Part of the West-riding of Yorkshire, and of All the North and East-ridings, the Bishoprick of Durham, and the County of...
  2. (historical) 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.1878, Spencer Walpole, chapter I, in A History of England from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815 […], volume I, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 58

Noun (4) capitalized: Rover

Rover (plural Rovers)

  1. Someone connected with any number of teams called the Rovers, as a fan, player, coach etc.
    1. someone connected with Blackburn Rovers FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.
  2. (scouting) A member of the senior section of the Boy Scout movement catering for men of age 18 upwards, now disbanded.

Proper noun capitalized: Rover

Rover

  1. 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.1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 18
  2. A former make of a British motorcar.

Also used as

rover is also the alternative letter-case form of Rover.

rover meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

rover in Hindi

रोवर

rover in Tamil

ரோவர்

rover in Marathi

person or animal that travels around, especially over a wide area, without a fixed destination
भटकणारा bhaṭakṇārā, भटकणारे bhaṭakṇāre, भटकणारी bhaṭakṇārī
small manned or unmanned land vehicle for exploring extraterrestrial bodies
रोव्हर rovhar
(Australian rules football) position that is one of three of a team’s followers making up a ruck; player playing this position
रोव्हर rovhar

rover in Urdu

روور, رووور
More languagesFewer languages
rover in Bengali
রোভার
rover in Telugu
రోవర్
rover in Malayalam
റോവർ
rover in Kannada
ರೋವರ್
rover in Punjabi
ਰੋਵਰ
rover in Gujarati
રોવર
rover in Odia
ରୋଭର, ରୋଭର୍
rover in Nepali
रोभर, रोवर

Examples of rover in a sentence

  • Give him the word, that I'm not a rover, and tell him that his lonely days are over.1954, Pat Ballard, “Mr. Sandman”:
  • A Rover tooke him unprepared, / Search't his Port-mantua, bound him faſter, / And ſent him naked to his Maſter: […]1638, Corymbœus [pseudonym; Richard Brathwait], “His Northerne Journey: Third Part”, in Barnabees Journall; […], [London]: […] [John...
  • There vvere Three Stages borne, each by Six Porters: On the firſt Stage vvere the Teazer, Carder, Rover, Spinner, and Reeler of the Cotton-vvool.1742, [Daniel Defoe], “Letter III. Containing a Description of Part of the West-riding of Yorkshire, and of All the North and East-ridings...

All 15 example sentences with rover

Synonyms of rover

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of rover

Forms of rover

pluralrovers
pluralRovers

Plural of rover: rovers

Origin of rover

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”).

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”)

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”).

Words formed from rover

Phrases with rover

Words that rhyme with rover

Questions about rover

What does rover mean?
Rover means 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.
What is rover in Hindi?
Rover in Hindi is रोवर. See Rover meaning in Hindi.
How do you use rover in a sentence?
Give him the word, that I'm not a rover, and tell him that his lonely days are over.
What part of speech is rover?
Rover can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce rover?
Rover is pronounced /ˈɹəʊvə/ (UK).
What is the plural of rover?
The plural of rover is rovers.

Words near rover in the dictionary

  1. rove beetles
  2. roved
  3. Roveian
  4. rovelizumab
  5. Rovenky
  6. rover
  7. rover bellflower
  8. rover bellflowers
  9. roverback
  10. roverbacks
  11. Rovereto

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rover (page history and authors); Rover (page history and authors); rover (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rover (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “rover.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rover. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.