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• rover
  rover

  noun

  a person who roves; wanderer.
• Rover
  Rover

  noun

  a familiar name for a dog.

rover

¹ American  

[roh-ver] / ˈroʊ vər /

noun

1. a person who roves; wanderer.

2. Archery.

   1. a mark selected at random, as in a competition between two archers wandering over a specified area.

   2. one of a group of fixed marks at a long distance.

   3. an archer who shoots at such a mark.

3. Croquet. a ball that has been driven through all the arches and needs only to strike the last peg to be out of the game.

4. British.

   1. (at concerts or the like) a person who has a ticket for standing room only.

   2. a senior boy scout, 18 years of age or older.

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rover ² American  

[roh-ver] / ˈroʊ vər /

noun

1. a pirate.

2. Obsolete. a pirate ship.

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rover ³ American  

[roh-ver] / ˈroʊ vər /

noun

1. a machine that twists, draws out, and cleans fibers prior to spinning; a roving machine.

2. a roving-machine operator.

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Rover ⁴ American  

[roh-ver] / ˈroʊ vər /

noun

1. a familiar name for a dog.

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rover ¹ British  

/ ˈrəʊvə /

noun

1. a person who roves; wanderer

2. archery a mark selected at random for use as a target

3. croquet a ball that has been driven through all the hoops but has not yet hit the winning peg

4. Australian rules football one of the three players in the ruck, usually smaller than the other two, selected for his agility in play

5. a small remote-controlled vehicle which roams over rough, esp extraterrestrial, terrain taking photographs, gathering rock and soil samples, etc

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Rover ² British  

/ ˈrəʊvə /

noun

1. the former name for Venture Scout

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rover ³ British  

/ ˈrəʊvə /

noun

1. a pirate or pirate ship

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rover ⁴ British  

/ ˈrəʊvə /

noun

1. a machine for roving wool, cotton, etc, or a person who operates such a machine

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Etymology

Origin of rover¹

First recorded in 1490–1500; rove ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of rover²

First recorded in 1350–1400 rover ² for def. 1 and in 1530–40 rover ² for def. 2; Middle English rover(e) “pirate,” from Middle Dutch rover(e) or Middle Low German rover “robber,” equivalent to roven “to rob” + -er; cf. reave ¹; see also -er ¹ ( def. )

Origin of rover³

First recorded in 1735–45; rove ³ + -er ¹

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Explanation

A rover is a drifter or wanderer, someone who doesn't settle in one spot. If you grow up in a small town, you may dream of buying a camper and living as a rover one day. Because rovers tend to roam around, this word has historically been a popular name for dogs. In fact, Shakespeare even called a dog Rover in A Winter's Tale. The rover vehicles used to explore rough terrain got their name from this same sense of wandering. Planetary rovers roll around the surfaces of moons and planets, exploring on their own or carrying crew. Land Rovers and other cars bill themselves as equally rugged and adventurous.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rover Rover

NASA's Perseverance rover has officially set a new driving record on another world, traveling farther across an extraterrestrial surface than any vehicle before it.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

Along that route, the rover encountered a rock called "Cheyava Falls," where scientists identified a potential biosignature.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

NASA's Perseverance rover, which has been roaming across Mars since 2021, has already collected samples.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

He said their main task was to control the rover then provide the autonomous capabilities towards it.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

"You should see what I did to the rover," Watney radioed back.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Staffordshire Police then pulled over the Range Rover in April and confirmed it belonged to Gibbs-White.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Speaking last month, Kevin Moreley, a former managing director of the Rover Group, said the Type 01 would be a pivotal moment for the firm.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

At around $50,000, the Jaecoo is half the price of a visually similar Range Rover model.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Its resemblance to the 56-year-old British luxury brand has earned the Jaecoo a double-edged nickname: the Temu Range Rover.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

“This is the largest and most advanced Mars Rover model that has ever been built,” he says.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

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