rover
see also: Rover
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈɹəʊvə(ɹ)/
Noun

rover (plural rovers)

  1. (archery, usually, in the plural) A randomly selected target.
    • 1890, Arthur Conan Doyle, The White Company, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140811201712/http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=%2Ftexts%2Fenglish%2Fmodeng%2Fpublicsearch%2Fmodengpub.o2w Chapter 22.]
      "By my hilt! no. There was little Robby Withstaff, and Andrew Salblaster, and Wat Alspaye, who broke the neck of the German. Mon Dieu! what men they were! Take them how you would, at long butts or short, hoyles, rounds, or rovers, better bowmen never twirled a shaft over their thumb-nails.
  2. One who roves, a wanderer, a nomad.
    • 1846, Herman Melville, Typee, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140811201712/http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=%2Ftexts%2Fenglish%2Fmodeng%2Fpublicsearch%2Fmodengpub.o2w Chapter 1.]
      But these islands, undisturbed for years, relapsed into their previous obscurity; and it is only recently that anything has been known concerning them. Once in the course of a half century, to be sure, some adventurous rover would break in upon their peaceful repose. and astonished at the unusual scene, would be almost tempted to claim the merit of a new discovery.
  3. A vagabond, a tramp, an unsteady, restless person, one who by habit doesn't settle down or marry.
    She is a rover and dislikes any sort of ties, physical or emotional.
    • 1954,'' Pat Ballard, "Mr. Sandman, (song)
      Give him the word, that I'm not a rover, and tell him that his lonely days are over.
  4. A vehicle for exploring extraterrestrial bodies.
    • , [https://web.archive.org/web/20060929043908/http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft_surface_rover.html NASA site.]
      The Mars Exploration Rovers will act as robot geologists while they are on the surface of Mars.
  5. (Australian Rules football) A position that is one of three of a team's followers, who follow the ball around the ground. Formerly a position for short players, rovers in professional leagues are frequently over 183 cm (6').
  6. (American football) A defensive back position whose coverage responsibilities are a hybrid of those of a cornerback, safety and linebacker.
  7. (croquet) A ball which has passed through all the hoops and would go out if it hit the stake but is continued in play; also, the player of such a ball.
  8. (baseball) The tenth defensive player in slow-pitch softball.
  9. (obsolete) A sort of arrow.
    • 1600, Ben Jonson, Cynthia's Revels
      All sorts, flights, rovers, and butt shafts.
Translations Translations
  • Russian: (Mars rover) марсохо́д
Noun

rover (plural rovers)

  1. A pirate.
    • Yet Pompey the Great deserveth honour more justly for scouring the seas, and taking from the rovers 846 sail of ships.
  2. A pirate ship.
    • 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinnson Crusoe, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140811201712/http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=%2Ftexts%2Fenglish%2Fmodeng%2Fpublicsearch%2Fmodengpub.o2w Chapter 2.]
      The first was this: our ship making her course towards the Canary Islands, or rather between those islands and the African shore, was surprised in the grey of the morning by a Turkish rover of Sallee, who gave chase to us with all the sail she could make.

Rover
Noun

rover (plural rovers)

  1. (sports) someone connected with any number of teams called the Rovers, as a fan, player, coach etc.
    1. (soccer) someone connected with Blackburn Rovers FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.
  2. (Scouting) A member of the senior section of the Boy Scout movement catering for men of age 18 upwards, now disbanded.
Proper noun
  1. A stereotypical name for a dog.
  2. A former make of British motor car.



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