# rove

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɹəʊv/ · frequency rank #34,672

## Definitions
1. To 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.

## Etymology
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”).

## Easily confused with
- **RV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rv)
- **row** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-row)
- **Roy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-roy)
- **rue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rue)
- **rye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rye)
- **rule** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rule)
- **rude** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rude)
- **rows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rows)
- **Rowe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rowe)
- **Roxy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-roxy)
- **ruse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-ruse)
- **RSVP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rsvp)
- **rune** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rune)
- **rube** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rube)
- **Ryde** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-ryde)
- **rover** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rover)
- **Royce** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-royce)
- **rower** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rower)
- **rowed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rove-vs-rowed)
- **re** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/re-vs-rove)

## Common misspellings (5)
`orve`, `roev`, `rovve`, `rrove`, `rvoe`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/rove