rove

¹

[rohv]

verb (used without object)

roved, roving 

1. to wander about without definite destination; move hither and thither at random, especially over a wide area.

   Synonyms: stray, amble, stroll

verb (used with object)

roved, roving 

1. to wander over or through; traverse.

   to rove the woods.

noun

1. an act or instance of roving.

rove

²

[rohv]

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of reeve.

rove

³

[rohv]

verb (used with object)

roved, roving 

1. to form (slivers of wool, cotton, etc.) into slightly twisted strands in a preparatory process of spinning.

2. to draw fibers or the like through an eye or other small opening.

3. to attenuate, compress, and twist slightly in carding.

noun

1. British.,  roving.

rove

¹

/ rəʊv /

verb

1. to wander about (a place) with no fixed direction; roam

2. (intr) (of the eyes) to look around; wander

3. to show a widespread amorous interest in the opposite sex

4. (intr) Australian rules football to play as a rover

noun

1. the act of roving

rove

²

/ rəʊv /

verb

1. (tr) to pull out and twist (fibres of wool, cotton, etc) lightly, as before spinning or in carding

noun

1. wool, cotton, etc, thus prepared

rove

³

/ rəʊv /

noun

1. a metal plate through which a rivet is passed and then clenched over

rove

⁴

/ rəʊv /

verb

1. a past tense and past participle of reeve 2

Word History and Origins

Origin of rove¹

First recorded in 1490–1500; originally, “to shoot at a random target”; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse rāfa “to stray”; but compare also Old French raver “to roam”

Origin of rove²

First recorded in 1690–1700; of obscure origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of rove¹

C15 roven (in archery) to shoot at a target chosen at random (C16: to wander, stray), from Scandinavian; compare Icelandic rāfa to wander

Origin of rove²

C18: of obscure origin

Origin of rove³

C15: from Scandinavian; compare Icelandic ro

Synonym Study

See roam.

Example Sentences

In September, the Supreme Court temporarily lifted a lower-court order that had barred immigration agents in Los Angeles from “roving” patrols.

From Los Angeles Times

For the next two hours, Stringer roved the room, pausing to sharpen pencils or praise participants’ designs.

From Los Angeles Times

“Of course not. The FCC does not have a roving mandate to police speech in the name of the ‘public interest.’”

From Salon

After suffering through a harrowing summer, L.A. was finally able to relax a bit when a judge blocked ICE’s method of “roving raids” all over the city.

From Salon

According to Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, writing a concurrence in the Supreme Court’s emergency ruling allowing roving immigration raids in Los Angeles, any of these could be fair game, using law and “common sense.”

From Los Angeles Times