What does "rover" mean?
Rover: One who wanders about by sea or land; a wanderer; a rambler.
Additional senses
- 2.Hence, a fickle, inconstant person.
- 3.(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.
- 4.(Archery) (a) Casual marks at uncertain distances. Encyc. Brit. (b) A sort of arrow. [Obs.] All sorts, flights, rovers, and butt shafts. B. Jonson. At rovers, at casual marks; hence, at random; as, shooting at rovers. See def. 5 (a) above. Addison. Bound down on every side with many bands because it shall not run at rovers. Robynson (More's Utopia).
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00