roam

[rohm]

verb (used without object)

1. to walk, go, or travel without a fixed purpose or direction; ramble; wander; rove.

   to roam about the world.

   Synonyms: prowl, stroll, stray

verb (used with object)

1. to wander over or through.

   to roam the countryside.

noun

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

roam

/ rəʊm /

verb

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

noun

1. the act of roaming

Other Word Forms

• roamer noun
• unroaming adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of roam¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of roam¹

C13: origin unknown

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

He said ownership can be "complex" and the group wants people to have access to places where they have historically been able to roam like the foreshore "regardless of the ownership there".

Read more on BBC

Pollokshields has seen disorder on Bonfire Night in recent years, with locals describing how groups of hooded young men roamed the streets firing large fireworks at buildings, cars and people.

Read more on BBC

It was believed to be the time when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest and spirits roamed the earth.

Read more on BBC

He has turned more than half his farm over to a wildlife reserve where ostriches, deer and giant rodents called capybaras roam, and on the remainder practices sustainable farming.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It was designed to roam the fields, planting and fertilizing and harvesting the feed crops.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• drift 
• meander 
• prowl 
• ramble 
• saunter 
• stray 
• stroll 
• traipse 
• tramp 
• trek