rover
rov·er/ˈɹoʊvɚ/noun
rover is spelled R-O-V-E-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables (rov·er). It appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rover means “One who roves: a person or animal that travels around, especially over a wide area, without a fixed destination; a nomad, a roamer, a wanderer” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rover is rovers.
How many letters and syllables are in rover?
| Letters | 5: R-O-V-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: rov·er |
| In writing | 5.8 times per million words; the 10,196th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 rover?
Rover appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th 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 rover?
- UK /ˈɹəʊvə/
- US /ˈɹoʊvɚ/
- /ˈɾovəɾ/
Rover has 2 syllables, split rov·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-rover.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rover?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rover from its last stressed vowel (/oʊvəɹ/):
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 rover
- rovers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rover mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who roves: a person or animal that travels around, especially over a wide area, without a fixed destination; a nomad, a roamer, a wanderer.
- 2
datedA restless, unsteady person who does not settle down; specifically (historical), a flirtatious, unfaithful man; a rake.
Near-synonyms: see Thesaurus:libertine
- 3
Also rover ticket: a person who has a ticket for an event, performance, etc., but no assigned seat, and so has to find a place to sit or stand.
- 4
A small manned or unmanned land vehicle for exploring extraterrestrial bodies.
September 19, 2005, Dave Lane, Mars Exploration Rover "OPPORTUNITY" NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is currently traveling southward over a pavement of outcrop dubbed the "Erebus Highway." "Erebus Crater," the rover's next target,
- 5
A defensive back position whose coverage responsibilities are a combination of those of a cornerback, linebacker, and safety; also, a player playing this position.
- 6
Chiefly in the plural in the form to shoot at rovers: a target randomly selected by an archer, usually for practice; also, a fixed target for practising long-distance shooting.
- 7
obsoleteA type of heavy arrow used for long-distance shooting.
- 8
A position that is one of three of a team's followers making up a ruck, who follow the ball around the ground; also, a player playing this position, who is generally fast and skilful at receiving the ball, and formerly of shorter stature.
- 9
A pirate.
- 10
A pirate ship.
- 11
obsoleteA plunderer, a raider, a robber.
- 12
One who forms cotton, wool, or other fibres into rovings (“long, narrow bundles of fibres”), specifically using a roving frame in a mill.
- 13
A machine used to make rovings, especially a roving frame.
noun
- 1
Someone connected with any number of teams called the Rovers, as a fan, player, coach etc.
- 2
someone connected with Blackburn Rovers FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.
- 3
A member of the senior section of the Boy Scout movement catering for men of age 18 upwards, now disbanded.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rover in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Nomade, Vagabund, Wanderer, Weltenbummler , Rover |
| Spanish | trotamundos, vagabundo , astromóvil |
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 rover come from?
From rove (“to roam, wander; (archery) to shoot an arrow randomly”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns from verbs). Rove is derived from Late Middle English *roven, rove (“to wander”); further etymology uncertain, possibly an English Midlands variant of Northern England raven, rave (“to rove, stray, wander”), possibly from Old Norse ráfa (“to roam, wander”) (although rove and rave are only attested much later), possibly from Proto-Germanic *wabōną, *wabjaną (“to cause to weave; to entangle, wrap”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).