rover

C2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈroʊvɚ/ UK /ˈrəʊvə/ See IPA manual

Freq #9089

Meanings

1

noun
a person who wanders or travels without settling in one place

The restless rover refused to exchange distant journeys for a settled life.
2

noun
a remotely operated or partly autonomous vehicle used to explore a planet, moon, seabed, or other difficult environment

The lunar rover transmitted close-up images of the crater floor.
3

noun
historical: a pirate, raider, or pirate ship

An armed rover pursued the merchant vessel beyond the harbor.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who wanders or... wandererroamernomad vagabond

2 noun · a remotely operated or... exploration vehiclerobotic vehicle

3 noun · historical: a pirate,... pirate raider corsair

Opposites

settlerhomebody

Word family

Derived forms roverlike

Related forms rove roaming vagabondreaver

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

sea rover
a person who raids ships or coastal settlements as a pirate

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Rover entered Middle English from a form of the same ancient Germanic word family as rob, whose underlying sense was “booty.” Despite its modern association with rove, the verb rove has a separate origin.

Etymology

From rove + the agent suffix -er, with older links to Middle Dutch roven ('rob'). The word first named a wanderer or raider and could also mean a pirate vessel. Modern engineering extended the roaming idea to mobile machines that explore planets and other inaccessible places.

Topics

People & Society Astronomy & Space Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# rover

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈroʊvɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈrəʊvə/
**Frequency rank:** 9089

## Meanings
1. a person who wanders or travels without settling in one place
2. a remotely operated or partly autonomous vehicle used to explore a planet, moon, seabed, or other difficult environment
3. historical: a pirate, raider, or pirate ship

## Examples
- The restless rover refused to exchange distant journeys for a settled life.
- The lunar rover transmitted close-up images of the crater floor.
- An armed rover pursued the merchant vessel beyond the harbor.

## Synonyms
- wanderer
- roamer
- nomad
- exploration vehicle
- pirate

## Antonyms
- settler
- homebody

## Derived Forms
- roverlike

## Related Forms
- rove
- roaming
- vagabond
- reaver

## Etymology
From rove + the agent suffix -er, with older links to Middle Dutch roven ('rob'). The word first named a wanderer or raider and could also mean a pirate vessel. Modern engineering extended the roaming idea to mobile machines that explore planets and other inaccessible places.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Astronomy & Space
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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