rove
/ɹoʊv/verb, noun
rove is spelled R-O-V-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, rove means “To roam, or wander about at random, especially over a wide area” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rove?
| Letters | 4: R-O-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rove?
Rove appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rove?
- UK /ɹəʊv/
- US /ɹoʊv/
Rove has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-rove.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rove?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rove from its last stressed vowel (/oʊv/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: over, vore.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of rove
- roves present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- roving participle, present
- roved participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rove mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo shoot with arrows (at).
- 2
To roam, or wander about at random, especially over a wide area.
- 3
To roam or wander through.
- 4
To card wool or other fibres.
- 5
To twist slightly; to bring together, as slivers of wool or cotton, and twist slightly before spinning.
- 6
To draw through an eye or aperture.
- 7
To plough into ridges by turning the earth of two furrows together.
- 8
To practice robbery on the seas; to voyage about on the seas as a pirate.
- 9
simple past of rive
- 10
simple past of reeve
noun
- 1
A copper washer upon which the end of a nail is clinched in boatbuilding.
- 2
A roll or sliver of wool or cotton drawn out and lightly twisted, preparatory to further processing; a roving.
- 3
The act of wandering; a ramble.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rove in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to wander about at random:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | errer, vagabonder |
| German | sich herumtreiben, umherschweifen |
| Spanish | deambular, vagar, yirar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rove come from?
Probably from Middle English *roven, a Midlands variant of Northern Middle English raven (“to wander”), from Old Norse ráfa (“to rove; stray about”). Cognate with Icelandic ráfa (“to wander”), Scots rave (“to wander; stray; roam”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).