roam

[ rohm ]
See synonyms for roam on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
  1. to walk, go, or travel without a fixed purpose or direction; ramble; wander; rove: to roam about the world.

verb (used with object)
  1. to wander over or through: to roam the countryside.

noun
  1. an act or instance of roaming; a ramble.

Origin of roam

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English romen origin uncertain

synonym study For roam

1. Roam, ramble, range, rove imply wandering about over (usually) a considerable amount of territory. Roam implies a wandering or traveling over a large area, especially as prompted by restlessness or curiosity: to roam through a forest. Ramble implies pleasant, carefree moving about, walking with no specific purpose and for a limited distance: to ramble through fields near home. Range usually implies wandering over a more or less defined but extensive area in search of something: Cattle range over the plains. Rove sometimes implies wandering with specific incentive or aim, as an animal for prey: Bandits rove through these mountains.

Other words for roam

Other words from roam

  • roamer, noun
  • un·roam·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use roam in a sentence

  • Once more I began to realize that I was human, and to cast about for the mate that must surely be roaming in search of me.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • Aguinaldo was still roaming about central Luzon, but, one by one, his generals either surrendered or were captured.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • "Atavism can hardly explain a roaming animal with teeth and claws and sanguinary instincts," interrupted Maloney with impatience.

    Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon Blackwood
  • Nor would it do for a woman of Virginia to be redeemed to civilization with a red husband roaming at large.

    A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
  • We can't tell how many dreadful, invisible beasts are roaming around us, or what danger we'll come to next.

    The Tin Woodman of Oz | L. Frank Baum

British Dictionary definitions for roam

roam

/ (rəʊm) /


verb
  1. to travel or walk about with no fixed purpose or direction; wander

noun
  1. the act of roaming

Origin of roam

1
C13: origin unknown

Derived forms of roam

  • roamer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012