roving
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.moving from one place to another instead of staying in one fixed position.
adj.characterised by wandering or travelling from place to place without a permanent residence or fixed location.
Simple“The company hired a roving reporter to cover stories across the whole country.”
In context“The roving ambassador spent most of the year travelling between various capitals to negotiate the new trade agreement.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
adj.describing eyes that look around at everything instead of focusing on one thing.
adj.describing a gaze or eyes that constantly shift focus, often suggesting curiosity, restlessness, or a search for something.
Simple“He had a roving eye and was always looking for the next big opportunity.”
In context“Her roving gaze scanned the crowded ballroom, searching for a familiar face among the sea of strangers.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
n.a long, thin roll of wool or other fibre that is ready to be spun into yarn.
n.a continuous strand of loosely assembled fibres that has been drawn out and slightly twisted in preparation for spinning.
Simple“The spinner took the soft roving and began to turn it into fine thread.”
In context“The quality of the final yarn depends heavily on the uniformity of the roving produced during the initial carding process.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.the action of wandering or travelling over a wide area.
v.the present participle or gerund of 'rove', denoting the act of wandering over or through a wide area.
Simple“Roving through the woods was his favourite way to spend a Sunday afternoon.”
In context“After years of roving across the continent, the explorer finally decided to document his findings in a series of journals.”
From rove + -ing
From rove (“sliver of wool or cotton”), late 17th century, possibly from obsolete Middle English rove(n) (“to draw out, pull off”), itself a dialectal variant of rive (“to tear, split”).
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.