roving
1 Americanadjective
-
roaming or wandering.
-
not assigned or restricted to any particular location, area, topic, etc..
a roving editor.
-
not assigned to any particular diplomatic post but having a special mission.
a roving ambassador.
noun
-
a soft strand of fiber that has been twisted, attenuated, and freed of foreign matter preparatory to its conversion into yarn.
-
the final phase of carding, in which this is done.
Other Word Forms
- rovingly adverb
- rovingness noun
Etymology
Origin of roving1
First recorded in 1590–1600; rove 1 + -ing 2
Origin of roving2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He is based in Europe but roving widely, working with bureau chiefs and reporters to catalyze our best reporting from the field.
As a roving correspondent, he did … well, some serious roving.
From Los Angeles Times
Among their demands is requiring officers to wear and turn on body cameras, banning them from wearing masks, and ending the practice of “roving patrols” and instead requiring that they carry out only targeted operations.
From Los Angeles Times
They were far less menacing than the roving patrols of soldiers and police officers that were ubiquitous in France.
From Los Angeles Times
The Fed’s roving remit and grand ambitions, however, expanded its surface area and exposed its vulnerability even more.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.