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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

His weary voice, describing with sympathy what this solitary, hungry rover is going through, details a broken relationship between human and beast, but more keenly and traumatically, between humans and humans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Once the scientific work was complete, the rover resumed its journey and soon surpassed the previous distance record.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

When actual rover drivers send instructions to vehicles in space, there is a time delay between when the radio signal is sent from Earth to when it reaches Mars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

The best interactive exhibits turn curiosity and fun into stealth learning, like a chance to control a Mars rover or practice repairing the Hubble Space Telescope.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

It attaches to the rover airlock, so getting stuff in is going to be annoying.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Meanwhile, the large Perseverance Rover landed on Mars in 2021 and set an off-world driving record by traveling 28 miles while collecting rock and atmosphere samples.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

An HSE investigation found Baker had initially attached a winch to the front of the Range Rover, which would have prevented the vehicle rolling away if the handbrake was released or failed.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Chery had an intimate understanding of the Range Rover Evoque before launching the Jaecoo 7.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 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

Air: Rover and trailer combined storage: 14 liters liquid 02, 14 liters liquid N,.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

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